The industry has reacted with a mixture of anger and dismay to the announcement of the Common User Charge (CUC) which will be levied on commercial movements of animal products, plants, and plant products through the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel.
Controversially, the fees will apply on every consignment which enters Great Britain via the so-called short straits route, regardless of whether the consignment is inspected at the Sevington Border Control Point (BCP). The user fee will be £29 per consignment, capped at £145 per IPAFFS prenotification for all high and medium-risk goods (i.e., plants, seeds, bulbs & cut flowers).
HTA chairman Jame Barnes warned, “While it is welcome that it has at last been published, the announcement at the eleventh hour confirms our fears that… UK horticulture’s competitiveness will be again hit by a cost hike for no material gain. 90% of our growers import plants at some stage of the growing cycle. Nearly 100% are SMEs and, in theory, subject to 100% checks and charges. Today, they have near 0% access to the easements or alternatives to BCP usage.
“Our sector typically has multiple commodity lines per consignment, meaning, in reality, businesses in our sector will be paying the £145 maximum charge. This will be a huge new cost burden for many, hitting SMEs hard, particularly those using groupage.”
The Fresh Produce Consortium warned that the proposed charges ‘threaten to cripple’ SMEs in the fresh produce and horticultural sectors. FPC chief executive called the charges a “thinly veiled tax on the industry.” He continued, “This is simply not a manageable cost for our members. These exorbitant charges imposed by our government represent a direct tax on businesses. It’s a move that will undoubtedly shatter supply chain confidence and is already encouraging EU exporters to reconsider their commitment to supply the UK market.
“Ultimately, it’s essential the UK remains a destination of choice for international exporters to complement our fantastic homegrown fresh produce and to offer the choice and availability we all demand. The Government’s poorly considered border solution puts this in severe jeopardy or, at best, drives avoidable food inflation.”
Estimates suggest that the introduction of CUCs could add £200 million in costs to the sector. While the Government claims consumers will see negligible price increases, Marco Forgione, the director general of the Institute of Export & International Trade, said, “While larger businesses have the capacity to absorb this cost, it will be small businesses that will feel the full force of these charges. Up to an additional £145 a consignment might mean entire profits wiped out completely.”
The Government says the fees are necessary to ‘recover the costs of operating our world-class border facilities.’