The UK’s organic food sector has warned of higher prices and food waste threats as a consequence of incoming post-Brexit import requirements.
The government is introducing the need for a Certificate of Inspection (COI) on organic goods coming from the EU from February next year.
Defra has issued limited guidance on the costs of the certificates and how exactly they will need to be processed at the border.
But industry insiders estimated costs of producing and verifying the paperwork at the UK’s borders will significantly affect organic imports and could potentially lead to shortages across the country’s supermarkets.
British businesses importing goods marked as organic need to produce a COI, which is similar to a phytosanitary certificate, for each consignment at a cost.
The document must be endorsed by the certification body in the country of origin, and it has to be verified by UK border officials at the point of entry at a cost of around £50-£100 per consignment.
Additionally, sampling of the goods – a recurring practice at border control posts – may be taken on top, which could set companies back over £100.
The requirements are set to affect 76% of British retailers’ trailers, according to a letter sent by a group of trade bodies and food and logistics businesses to new Defra secretary Steve Reed highlighting the extent of the challenges.
However, businesses are unable to estimate the total financial toll of the regulations as of yet due to limited information coming from the government.
The Soil Association told The Grocer businesses were “desperate for clarity”.
SA’s head of technical, Sarah Hathway, said: “The need for a Certificate of Inspection to be in place for organic goods coming from the EU from February next year will have a significant impact on the cost and availability of organic imports, unless sufficient systems and solutions are put in place.
“This is a challenging situation for businesses handling organic products and the sector is desperate for clarity.”
The SA has been “raising concerns with Defra on this for a long time”, Hathway said.
The food industry has also sounded the alarm over the ability for EU member states and the UK’s own Plant Health Agency (PHA) to cope with the influx of certificate requests in the letter sent to Reed earlier this month.
Traders took a jab at the UK PHA’s turnaround ability, deeming it “questionable since it is unclear whether they have capacity to approve COIs quickly in the absence of digital certification”.
“It is understood the PHA is processing COIs by email, creating strain on services.”
EU members will also “struggle to issue organic COIs” in the absence of digital processes, they said, with countries currently at varying levels of preparedness.
Spain, one of the UK’s key suppliers of fresh produce, “is not yet ready for potential changes”, the letter warned, adding “Spanish growers and authorities do not operate 24/7”.
It crucially noted that many organic goods entering the country are highly perishable, such as fruit & vegetables and dairy, and can end up going to waste if held back at the border.
“Existing infrastructure and systems are not geared up to cope with new requirements,” industry warned Defra.
“We are asking Defra to ensure there is clarity around the requirements for UK businesses and ports, but also to their counterparts in the EU, and organic control bodies in the EU that will be required to approve the movement of the goods,” the SA’s Hathway added.
“It is unacceptable that there is not already clarity on the requirements and if the sector doesn’t receive instructions for the way forward soon, then the government will have little choice but to push the decision back or face empty supermarket shelves in January and February – as supply will slow significantly.”
Organic wine brand Sea Change, which imports some of its wine from the EU, said it had no option but to wait until the situation became clearer.
“Like other businesses, we are still waiting for more formal guidance from Defra, who have not yet clarified what systems or processes will be accessible to manage GB COIs for goods from EU/EEA and how import consignments will be checked and verified,” said Sea Change’s digital marketing manager, Debbie Turner.
A government spokesperson said: “Protecting UK biosecurity remains one of our key priorities and we are working with traders to ensure new checks are completed efficiently and without significant delays.”
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