SCOTLAND’S seafood industry is facing a disastrous increase in costs if there’s a no-deal Brexit, with salmon producers alone facing extra charges of £15 million a year just to pay for export health certificates
Scotland’s fisheries secretary Fergus Ewing has written to the UK Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to highlight the potential impacts to Scotland’s salmon and other seafood products if the export health certificates issue is not resolved.
He has also called for the Brexit process to be stopped and for the UK Government to reimburse any extra costs faced by the industry in the event of no deal.
The full text of the letter from
Ewing to UK Environment Secretary Michael Gove has been given to
The National.
It states: “I am writing to express concern that the practical consequences of a no-deal Brexit become more stark by the day.
“Last September, at the Ministerial Forum (EU Negotiations) discussion on the future relationship with the EU on agri-food, I raised the issue of export certification for salmon and other seafood products, where the practical requirements of certification together with the need for border inspection posts would be resource intensive.
“I raised the issue with you again in the Defra/Devolved Administrations Ministerial Meeting on January 14. In the context of no-deal Brexit, these
issues are even more stark, and would be hugely damaging for our most valuable food export.
“The clock must be stopped on the Article 50 process as this is the only way to avoid any possibility of the UK crashing out of the EU on March 29
without a deal. Failure to do so, in knowledge of the catastrophic
consequences, would be unpardonably reckless.
“Our work on contingency planning has identified that the number of export health certificates required by the salmon industry could quadruple from around 50,000 per annum to 200,000. This would cost around £15m extra each year – even if the EU’s more stringent requirements for certificates are disregarded.
“Industry will see no benefit
from this additional paperwork.
At the same time, imports of similar products to the UK from the EU
will not be subject to these requirements, creating an asymmetry that is only to the detriment of our
own industry.
“The people of Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU and Scotland’s public finances should not bear the costs of EU exit. I therefore seek your commitment that the UK Government will reimburse these costs, whether borne by the public sector or by industry. Can this
be done?”
A Defra spokesperson said: “The UK Government remains committed to securing the best trade deal for the whole of the UK’s fishing industry when we leave the EU and become an independent coastal state.
“Delivering a deal with the EU remains the top priority but, as with any responsible government, we’re planning for all scenarios.”
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