The government has raised the tariff quota on the import of cold-water prawns, following pressure from the British Frozen Food Federation.
The trade association in June, as reported by The Grocer, called for an urgent increase in the cold-water prawn quota to avoid high prawn prices and shortages at Christmas.
Without an increase, processors would have been forced to import cold water prawns at the full 20% rate of duty, threatening the supply in the run-up to Christmas.
This would have led to a price hike for consumers, the chief executive of the BFFF, Rupert Ashby, warned.
“The quota ensures the UK seafood processing industry has access to a steady supply of tariff-free imported prawns at a competitive price,” said Ashby. “While the increase to the quota is good news, it is only a temporary solution as there is still no post-Brexit trade agreement in place with Greenland, one of the UK prawn market’s most important suppliers.”
Trade of cold water shrimp from Greenland to the UK was worth an estimated £49m in 2020, according to the government, and the quota had been put in place to continue to keep costs down for British businesses while an agreement was signed.
He added: “Although our members have been told to expect a trade deal to be signed in the next few months, we are still awaiting clarity from the government which is vital for our members to properly plan ahead for a busy winter.”
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