Scottish seafood exporter has had to send ’17 different attachments’ with one consignment.
Press and Journal reports that Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael has called on the Chancellor Rishi Sunak to step in and support seafood Scottish exporters.
On Monday, it was reported that the 150-year-old salmon smoker John Ross Jr wrote a seething letter to the British Government over delays and new export rules post-Brexit.
The Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation (SSPO) said that they want both the UK and Scottish Government to liaise closely with hauliers, local authorities and the agencies dealing with the new paperwork to ensure adequate resources are in place.
The Chancellor clearly has no idea how difficult these new procedures are for businesses. Seafood exporters may not face tariffs in trading with the EU but they are tied up in yards of Brexit red tape thanks to this Government. Ministers need to take action to mitigate the harm. https://t.co/jNIBmUWzrc
— Alistair Carmichael (@amcarmichaelMP) January 11, 2021
Carmichael said that he spoke to a local fish trader told him that a “single consignment now has to go with no fewer than 17 attachments” while another lost GBP 50,000 on a single consignment that he had been unable to export.
“What is the Chancellor going to do to offer help to fish exporters during this difficult time – difficult because of Defra’s own rules and procedures?” said the Scottish Lib Dem.
In Parliament, Rishi Sunak in response said: “I know Michael Gove (Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.ed) is working though individual issues as we look over time to improve processes, and he will also know that we have invested a huge amount of resource in both the IT systems at Defra but also in providing support for those businesses to fill out various forms and meet new procedures.”
