New checks on shipments of food and drink between Great Britain and Northern Ireland could remain in place for up to three years, the British Retail Consortium has warned.
And with supermarkets already warning red tape is affecting the supply of some goods, the sector was facing a “constant battle to maintain availability”, said BRC director of food & sustainability Andrew Opie.
The third and final phase of the post-Brexit Windsor Framework, mandating additional ‘Not for EU’ labelling on a slew of food and drink products, came into force on 1 July.
The final phase – covering products ranging from packed fruit & veg to fish, eggs and all chilled and frozen composite products – was introduced despite the UK signing a ‘reset’ deal with the EU in May, which includes a new sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement.
Products not carrying the labels are required to go through the framework’s ‘Red Lane’ – designed for GB goods heading to Ireland and/or the rest of the EU.
But with no sign of any further detail on when the SPS deal will be implemented, supermarkets were increasingly concerned the checks were “leading to reduced availability of some SKUs” shipped over from the mainland, due to confusion over labelling and paperwork, The Grocer reported last month.
Opie admitted this week it would take “significant time to ensure alignment with the EU on food law, before they are happy to reduce the SPS checks for EU exports and for moving food from GB to NI”.
“The problem has been a lack of visibility about changes in EU law which then impact on the framework, together with the time to implement changes, and the lack of guidance to ensure compliance,” he added.
“We will be told one thing by the UK government only for that to be revised as the EU want enhanced measures of compliance, and finally we are still unclear which bits of EU law apply in NI,” Opie said.
All this meant retailers faced “a regular need to change how they send food from GB to NI, often at short notice and as they also rely on manufacturers making changes it is a constant battle to maintain availability”, he argued.
The Grocer understands while there are no obvious shortages on shelf, that the additional red tape on shipments across the Irish Sea is leading some supermarkets to pare back their offerings of some SKUs, for example by reducing choice by cutting the number of pack sizes.
Opie said the BRC had asked the government to offer “greater visibility and sufficient notice of changes to current requirements”, until greater clarity on the SPS deal was available.
Defra was also urged to press the EU to adopt a “more pragmatic approach to compliance ahead of the implementation of the SPS deal”.
Finally, more clarity was also required on which regulations retailers were “required to follow, with sufficient notice for implementation”, he added, citing the uncertainty surrounding the planned rollout of the EU Deforestation Regulation, which is due to come into force at the end of the year.
“Faithful implementation of the Windsor Framework is essential if we are to secure the benefits that a SPS agreement with the EU will bring,” said Defra last month
It said this week it was “working closely with businesses across the UK on the new arrangements”.
The department was also “monitoring the market and supermarkets are adapting to the new processes. So far we have not seen any significant issues but we will act if necessary”, a spokesperson said.
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