The UK food and drink industry warns Boris Johnson companies will have to pull out of Northern Ireland due to Brexit

• EXCLUSIVE: The leaders of 39 food and drink associations have warned Boris Johnson that companies are planning to pull out of Northern Ireland.
• The added cost of post-Brexit trade across the Irish Sea “means it will no longer be practical” for British businesses to continue serving Northern Irish customers, the letter seen by Business Insider states.
• The letter, addressed to senior UK ministers Michael Gove and George Eustice, urged them to minimize new checks on goods going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland from next year.
• Businesses are still waiting for details of how trade across the Irish Sea will work with just over two months to go until the end of the Brexit transition period.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

The leaders of 39 different UK food and drink industry bodies have written to Boris Johnson’s government warning that many of companies they represent will have to pull out from Northern Ireland, due to increased trading costs caused by Britain’s exit from EU trading rules.

The letter, which was sent to Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and George Eustice, the Environment Secretary on Monday, October 19 warned that “the added cost, complexity and trade friction this inevitably creates means it will no longer be practical for many of our businesses to supply goods from Great Britain for sale in the Northern Ireland market.”

In the letter, seen by Business Insider, the industry leaders said they were concerned that several issues facing trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the end of the Brexit transition period in just over two months’ time had not been addressed.

As of January 1, Northern Ireland will continue to follow EU trading rules in order to avoid a hard border with the Republic of Ireland, meaning there will be new checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea.

The letter to Gove and Eustice warned that the industry was still waiting for the government to say how it would resolve numerous issues affecting thousands of food and drink companies in Great Britain that sell food to Northern Ireland.

These included uncertainty over what labels British exporters to Northern Ireland would have to use from January, a national shortage of pallets that would be compliant with international law, and the costly new requirements for moving animal and plant products across the Irish Sea.

The letter warned that while Johnson’s government had indicated that it was seeking to waive checks on animal and plant products, its plans only appeared to cover major retailers and would not protect small-to-medium sized companies. An Export Health Certificate is required for individual types of animal goods and costs £200.

Suppliers to Northern Ireland that export animal and plant goods in large quantities face having to pay thousands of pounds on certification. “Lorries and containers used by suppliers will carry mixed consignments, often made up of hundreds of products, each requiring different documentation and subject to checks and inspections,” the letter said.

The 39 industry leaders warned Gove and Eustice that unless these new checks and costs were minimized in negotiations with the EU, many businesses in Great Britain would decide to simply stop selling goods to Northern Ireland.

“Producers are now preparing for this worst-case scenario and many are planning to stop supplying the Northern Ireland market after 1 January 2021 while they assess if it remains a viable option for their business.”

It said that “solutions are needed from Government to avoid this disastrous outcome” and urged the UK government to negotiate with the EU exemptions that would reduce the burden on smaller companies in particular.

The Northern Ireland Retail Consortium’s Aodhan Connolly echoed the letter’s signatories, telling Business Insider: “The removal of the need for SPS checks and costly Export Health Certificates have been at the top of our list of mitigations required and we have asked for that mitigation.”

The letter comes amid growing concern in the business world that the government has not provided businesses with enough details for them to prepare for life outside of the EU’s single market and customs union next year.

Gove and Johnson on Tuesday held a phone call with senior business leaders in which they urged them to step up preparations for life outside of the EU. The government this week escalated its Brexit communications campaign by urging companies to prepare for January 1 with the strap-line, “Time Is Running Out.”

However, one figure who was on the call yesterday said it was a “real disappointment,” and accused Johnson in particular of not being able to provide the technical details that they were looking for.

“The prime minister didn’t appear to be remotely aware that the key gap to preparedness is the lack of detail on dozens of important technical issues,” they told Business Insider.

“Michael Gove was much more on the ball but could offer no certainty on how things would play out with or without a deal. It felt like the call was timed to allow Government to start shifting the blame for any chaos which might ensue.”

Business Insider has asked the UK government for comment.

The 39 trade groups who have signed the letter

• Ian Wright CBE Chief Executive, Food and Drink Federation
• David Thomson Chief Executive, Food and Drink Federation Scotland
• Pete Robertson Director, Food and Drink Federation Cymru
• Richard Hands Chief Executive, Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment UK
• Rodney Steel Chief Executive, Association for Contract Manufacturing, Packing, Fulfilment &
  Logistics
• James Lowman Chief Executive, Association of Convenience Stores
• David Camp Chief Executive, Association of Labour Providers
• Jon Clark General Manager, BPIF Cartons
• Emma McClarkin Chief Executive, British Beer and Pub Association
• Paul Rooke Executive Director, British Coffee Association
• Walter Anzer MBE Director General, British Food Importers & Distributors Association and the Vinegar Brewers Federation
• Richard Harrow Chief Executive, British Frozen Food Federation
• Nick Allen Chief Executive, British Meat Processors Association
• Philip Law Director General, British Plastics Federation
• Richard Griffiths Chief Executive, British Poultry Council
• Charles Jarrold Chief Executive, British Printing Industries Federation
• Gavin Partington Director General, British Soft Drinks Association
• Declan O’Brien Director General, British Specialist Nutrition Association
• Shane Brennan Chief Executive, Cold Chain Federation
• Parminder Kaur Chair, Council for Responsible Nutrition UK
• Debbie Waldron-Hoines Director, European Flexographic Industry Association
• Gordon Polson Chief Executive, Federation of Bakers
• James Bielby Chief Executive, Federation of Wholesale Distributors
• Elsa Fairbanks Director, Food and Drink Exporters Association
• Nigel Jenney Chief Executive, Fresh Produce Consortium
• Alex Waugh Director General, National Association of British and Irish Flour Millers
• Lynda Simmons Secretary General, National Edible Oil Distributors’ Association
• Michael Bell Executive Director, Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association
• Dick Searle Chief Executive, Packaging Federation
• Michael Bellingham Chief Executive, Pet Food Manufacturers Association
• Michelle Riddalls Chief Executive Officer, Proprietary Association of Great Britain
• Andrew Kuyk CBE Director General, Provision Trade Federation
• Glyn Roberts Chief Executive, Retail NI
• Karen Betts CEO, Scotch Whisky Association
• Colin Smith Chief Executive, Scottish Wholesale Association
• Donna Fordyce Head, Seafood Scotland
• Angela Bowden Secretary General, Seed Crushers and Oil Processors Association
• James Smith Chair, UK Flavour Association
• Kate Nicholls Chief Executive Officer, UKHospitality