A new wave of Brexit border checks has just been introduced – meaning our grocery bills will probably go up.
Items entering the port of Dover and the Eurotunnel will now face more red tape just to get into the country, ramping up the overall price to import goods from the EU.
These costs are then expected to trickle down to consumers...
What are the next Brexit measures?
From April 30, meat, dairy, plants and seeds will have to go through physical checks when coming from the EU into Britain.
This will have a serious impact because of the sheer amount Britain imports from the bloc.
Britain imports 22% of its beef, 21% of its sheep meat, 49% of its pork, and most of that comes from the EU, according to the British Meat Processors Association.
It means high risk categories, like live animals, will face identity and physical checks for pests and diseases, as will medium-risk biosecurity products like eggs, dairy, meat and cut flowers.
Only low-risk products, like canned goods, will be able to escape the extra red tape.
Import costs will therefore increase. Firms will have to pay a base rate of £29 per shipment of particular products, with a £145 cap on mixed consignments.
But that does not even include other costs, like the mandatory health certificates and admin fees.
It is the second phase of the government’s Border Target Operating Model plan.
The first phase was introduced on January 31 this year. It meant most meat, dairy and plant products needed a health certificate to enter Britain.
According to Reuters, Cold Chain Federation suggests sending five different products through Dover could cost an extra £761 – per load.
It’s also likely to have an even larger impact on smaller importers, who cannot weather the extra financial burden.
Why are these checks only just coming in now?
They have been delayed five times across more than three years, but as they were part of the UK’s post-Brexit trade deal, they are legally required.
The first three delays were due to issues with unfinished border control posts.
Other delays were caused by worries about inflation, or the increase to household bills, the checks could bring.
The government is insisting it will gradually introduce the checks, prioritising the products of the highest risk, and considering each country of origin and the company delivering when deciding how thoroughly to check the produce.
It claims it will be scaling up these to full checks in the future, but has not offered a timescale.
Similar checks have already been in place going the other way, from Britain to the EU, ever since the UK left the single market back in January 2021.
Checks on Irish goods are not going to be introduced until November, even though the Republic of Ireland is part of the EU.
What does that mean for your grocery bill?
This extra paperwork and physical checks is widely expected to ramp up food prices.
However, the government thinks bills will only increase by 0.2 percentage points over the next three years.
The government says these checks will “improve our biosecurity”, and claims the costs would be “negligible compared to the impact of a major outbreak of a plant or animal disease”.
But, the government has previously said it expects these extra charges to cost companies around £330 million per year.