Industry warns UK meat sector could ‘lose’ EU orders within 12 weeks
The UK meat sector will start losing EU customers from September unless Government clarifies key technical issues on trade arrangements, the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) has warned.
It has urged Government to clarify within the next few weeks what export health certification (EHC) and tariff arrangements will be in place after the Brexit transition period, since most EU orders are planned three to four
months in advance to allow for pricing, barcoding and any promotions on packaging.
Worried the ‘lack of Government information’ on trade arrangement formalities could lead to a serious disruption of trade, BMPA chief executive officer Nick Allen said: “If this process is delayed until the autumn there will be huge uncertainty about our status from January 1, 2021, and UK exporters will not be able to
agree forward contracts.