Supermarket bosses have promised food prices will fall after the government reached an agreement with the EU to axe trade barriers.
As part of the trade agreement announced yesterday, the government said the majority of food and plant products would be allowed “to flow freely again” between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
Routine checks on animal and plant products moving between GB and NI will be slashed, although not removed completely, in a bid to “lower food prices and increase choice on supermarket shelves”.
EU trade barriers
“Sweeping away trade barriers with the EU will remove cost, complexity and delay in food imports from the Continent,” said Morrisons CEO Rami Baitiéh. “This promises to ease a source of pressure on food prices and is therefore good news for shoppers.
”As a fresh food manufacturer we also welcome the prospect of key export markets for our excellent meat and fish becoming more accessible.”
M&S Food MD Alex Freudmann said yesterday’s deal was a “major step forward” and would help M&S reduce prices, as it tries to bounce back from the impact of its cyberattack crisis.
“An SPS agreement with the EU removes the pointless bureaucracy we face in moving our products across Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and ensures we can supply the widest range of products at the best possible price to all of our customers,” he said.
“We’re really pleased to see this sort of pragmatic and positive move from the government.”
An Asda spokesman added: “Asda welcomes today’s agreement to progress a UK-EU SPS agreement.
“This has the potential to significantly reduce costs and bureaucracy both for the fresh produce we import from the EU and the goods we move every day to our customers in Northern Ireland.
“We look forward to supporting the government as work begins to finalise the detail, and we hope this will happen as soon as possible to deliver the maximum possible benefits for our customers and household budgets in every part of the UK.
“We also hope this agreement signals a new era of co-operation between the UK and EU, which will lead to simplification of other parts of the Windsor Framework such as customs and environmental regulations – these issues will not be addressed by an SPS agreement.”
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