Cian Hassett, Trade Market Executive, London Office, Bord Bia - The Irish Food Board
Bord Bia’s Supply Chain Optimisation Workshop
Registration for the upcoming Supply Chain Optimisation workshop, held on Friday 4th October at Bord Bia’s Creative Workshop, has opened. This half day workshop, with experts Simply Supply Chain, will address the key challenges facing companies, as highlighted in the Brexit Barometer 2019 findings.
Key news this week
Dairy Industry Ireland have informed Bord Bia that it is of their opinion that that the 13th of March tariff schedule released by the British Government for Dairy & SN products will remain unchanged despite huge pressure form UK farmers unions. An official announcement is imminent.
International Meat Trade Association were in attendance at the Major Ports meeting, on the 16th September, which included the Food Standards Agency (FSA), Defra and Port officials to discuss issues. In regards to Brexit, on pre-notification, an FSA representative said the UK government’s intention was to require pre-notification of EU imports no earlier than three months after Brexit. EU pre-notification will not be done using import of products, animals, food and feed system (IPAFFS).
The UK Government has released a flowchart for importing goods from the EU through RoRo ports after Brexit.
This document gives a detailed outline of what steps need to be taken in preparation for goods entering the UK post Brexit.
DAFM Brexit Events
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) are also hosting numerous events over the next month based on Brexit and the steps that agri-food businesses can take to keep trade moving. Members of Bord Bia will be on site at both events to offer advice on the support services available in the run up to Brexit. More info on these, including registration links and the topics that will be covered, can be found at the below link:
https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/brexit/events/
- 27th September: Johnston Castle, Co. Wexford – Minister Doyle will open and address all companies in attendance.
- 30th September: Radisson Blu, Little Island, Co. Cork – Minister Creed will open and address all companies in attendance.
For information relating to Imports: www.agriculture.gov.ie/brexit
Helpful for clarification on CVEDS, CN codes, trace registration, and required veterinary certs.
For information on the land bridge:
www.revenue.ie/en/customs-traders-and-agents/Brexit/index.aspx
This will clarify customs transit and how you can organise financial guarantees.
For Loans/Schemes/Financial Aid from Banking Corporation of Ireland
www.scbi.gov.ie
If you are a company and have YET to take action here:
It was suggested that these should be your first steps
- Register with Revenue
- Register with DAFM
- Contact/Register with the HSE (for food of plant origin).
The 2019 Brexit Barometer Industry Findings Report and Action Plan can now be downloaded from the Bord Bia website. The Action Plan provides practical information and outlines a number of steps that Irish food and drink companies can take in order to mitigate the risks posed by Brexit.
Bord Bia has also announced a new range of support services for Irish food and drink companies to help them to prepare for Brexit. There include:
- Supply Chain Mentoring Programme
- Customer Readiness Training
- Financial Risk Mentoring Programme
- Supply Chain Optimisation Workshop
- Key Customer Management Programme
Information on the support services can be found by following the above links. Alternatively, all information can be found on the Brexit page on the Bord Bia website: https://www.bordbia.ie/industry/trading-with-uk/
2019 National Ploughing Championships:
Tara McCarthy joined Fine Gaels Heather Humphreys along with Enterprise Ireland to discuss the Government supports available for business as they get ready for Brexit.
Shane Hamill spoke on a panel at the Government of Ireland site about the practical steps the agri-food industry can take to prepare for Brexit
European Commission raises hopes of a Brexit deal.
Jean-Claude Juncker, European Commission president, has opened the door to a possible Brexit deal, saying he was ready to scrap the controversial Irish “backstop” if Boris Johnson came up with a viable alternative. Mr Juncker’s comments on Thursday were a clear invitation to the UK to come up with new ways of achieving the aims of the backstop — which seeks to avoid a hard Irish border — following warnings from EU politicians that talks were foundering. He was explicit that Brussels was ready to rewrite the most sensitive parts of the Brexit deal it agreed with Mr Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May, confirming a marked softening of the EU’s position from this summer, when it said that the withdrawal agreement was not up for renegotiation. Crucially, Mr Juncker said he was open to British suggestions that a hard Irish border could be averted by conducting customs and regulatory checks elsewhere and by aligning Northern Ireland with EU agriculture and food rules.
John Major says Boris Johnson suspended parliament for ‘political interest’.
The UK’s highest court is set to rule early next week on whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson acted lawfully in advising the Queen to suspend parliament in a historic decision that could see MPs recalled immediately if two legal challenges succeed. The bitter constitutional legal showdown has seen Mr Johnson’s government clash with opponents including John Major, a former Tory prime minister, in a case that has centred on the legality of advice given by the prime minister to the monarch for the five-week shutdown. On Thursday Brenda Hale, president of the Supreme Court, said the 11 justices would rule “early next week” and deliver an answer “as soon as humanly possible”. The court is being asked to consider two conflicting rulings by English and Scottish courts. Sir John is supporting a legal challenge by Gina Miller, the anti-Brexit campaigner who lost her case at the High Court, which ruled prorogation was a political matter and so not reviewable by the courts. It is also considering a ruling from Scotland’s highest court, in a challenge brought by 70 parliamentarians, which found that Mr Johnson’s actions in suspending parliament were unlawful.
EU foresees a US-UK axis after Brexit.
By an overwhelming majority of 544 votes to 126, with 38 abstentions, the European Parliament voted on Wednesday to grant the UK more time, if needed and under certain conditions, to negotiate its withdrawal from the EU. For European governments, however, Brexit poses more than the short-term challenge of whether to do a deal with the UK, either before the October 31 deadline or after another extension. The larger question is whether a post-Brexit UK will detach itself from Europe in matters of trade, business regulation and security in order to align itself more closely with its traditional US ally. Now EU leaders are asking if the British will become increasingly dependent on Washington in an era when the US is focused less on upholding a multilateral world order than on corralling allies against its main rivals, China and Russia. However, it has become clear since Mr Johnson took over the premiership in July that the right to diverge from EU standards is central to his government’s vision of the post-Brexit future.
Consumers will not sacrifice food standards after Brexit, says Tesco boss.
The head of Britain’s largest supermarket Tesco said consumers had no interest in lowering food standards to bring prices down after Brexit, and ruled out selling chlorine-washed chicken from the US. Speaking at the Financial Times Future of Retail conference on Wednesday, Dave Lewis said the retailer’s customer research had shown that people disliked the idea of bringing back farming and food processing techniques that Britain had phased out because of safety and animal welfare concerns. Advocates of Brexit have argued that once the UK can negotiate its own trade deals, Britons will benefit from access to cheaper food. That has sparked concerns among farmers who feel that they cannot compete in a race to the bottom on food safety and standards. For example, US cattle are often raised on feedlots instead of being grazed on grass as in Britain, and chicken is doused in chlorine to kill bacteria including salmonella. The UK’s pending exit from the EU is expected to have a major impact on how the nation feeds itself, as farm subsidies and supply chains are overhauled. Britain now relies on imports for about half of its food needs, and the EU is by far its largest trading partner.
The pound rallied on Friday after upbeat comments from European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker in which he indicated a Brexit deal remained within reach.
Sterling gained 0.4 per cent against the dollar on Friday morning to reach $1.2574 — its highest level since early July — adding to gains made the previous day directly in the wake of Mr Juncker’s comments. Against the euro, the pound was up 0.1 per cent at €1.1350.
Looking ahead:
21st – 25th September: Labour Party Conference
29th September– 2nd October: Conservative Party Conference
14th October: UK Parliament returns – 3 sitting weeks before Brexit
17th – 18th October: European Council Summit
24th October: The earliest date a General Election can take place.