The government’s solution to Brexit trade friction in Northern Ireland could force businesses into more onerous and expensive routes, industry leaders have warned.
Senior figures fear a lack of proper guidance from Defra on how to comply with the green lane – officially known as the Retail Movement Scheme – will impact the flow of goods across the Irish Sea border in the short term.
The green lane was proposed as part of Rishi Sunak’s Windsor Framework in March, which sought to put an end to the trade gridlock caused by the now defunct Northern Ireland Protocol.
The green lane is designed to enable British traders to send retail goods to Northern Ireland in a speedier manner.
Those who are not eligible will fall into the red lane, intended for goods heading into the Republic of Ireland and other EU markets.
However, it is now feared many goods destined for NI will go through the red lane as businesses struggle to meet green lane requirements in time for the first round of border checks on 1 October.
The government released the first tranche of guidance for using the green lane earlier this month. But the tight timescale for the requirements and lack of clarity from government during weekly industry meetings will result in “many companies simply electing to channel all their products via the red lane”, said Provision Trade Federation director general Rod Addy.
“This will dramatically increase volumes going through the red lane and slow down the flow of goods.
“It’s hard to see how this won’t happen unless some leniency is shown.”
Read more: Rishi Sunak ‘majorly oversold’ Windsor Framework, say food businesses
Cold Chain Federation CEO Shane Brennan also warned lack of granular detail on the new two-way system would probably result in “more businesses going through the red lane than the Windsor Framework designers would have hoped or promised”.
Industry stakeholders have quizzed government on whether Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment & Rural Affairs will be able to cope with increased volumes going through the red lane, but have received “no response from government so far”, according to a senior source.
Meetings between government and industry have been described as “not productive” and “leading to more frustration”.
“Whatever rule book we are asked to comply with, ultimately we will comply with it, but if it’s unnecessarily complex and bureaucratic and onerous, that just equals expense and that expense will end up being passed on to the consumer,” warned Northern Ireland Food & Drink Association executive director Michael Bell.
A Defra spokesman told The Grocer: “The current model in place is flexible and we are working to ensure the continued efficient movement of both green and red lane goods when the new arrangements are phased in. Our aim remains that vehicles will have minimal waiting times when they arrive at checking points.”
Many in the industry have already raised the alarm over the government’s short notice on the new ‘not for EU’ labelling requirements for meat and dairy products using the green lane.
Bell said “labelling itself is not the issue”, but that those holding significant stocks of labelling for long periods of time would also opt to use the red lane for as long as that stock lasted.
The government has put a 30-day transition period in place to give businesses time to adapt after the October deadline, but he noted that was “not even close to make a major packaging alteration as the minimum time is six months”.
Addy said: “If labelling isn’t sorted by October, that will call for a more hands-on approach at borders to manage red-lane flow. It’s uncertain whether the infrastructure will be in place to handle that.”
Read more: What the Windsor Framework really means for food businesses
An FDF spokeswoman said: “The idea of the Windsor Framework is to improve the movement of goods inside the UK and after the significant uncertainty food and drink manufacturers have faced over the past two years it delivered welcome progress.
“However, many UK businesses are still searching for clarity on a number of areas, including whether their products are in scope of product labelling requirements and health certification and the associated costs.
“UK government must work with industry to deliver pragmatic and business-friendly solutions that will ensure Northern Irish consumers can continue to enjoy the full choice of quality UK products, without adding unnecessary cost to goods sold in Great Britain.”
The government said it was committed to supporting and working with industry to prepare for October 2023 and the subsequent labelling requirements.
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