Taskforce provides vital help for Scottish seafood exporters
Seventh meeting between key fishing industry figures and government helps to cut EU red tape
From:
19 May 2021
Progress is being made to improve export systems for Scottish seafood, a meeting between industry and government has heard.
Discussions took place during the seventh meeting of the Scottish seafood exports taskforce, which brings together key industry figures from the fishing industry with officials and senior politicians from the UK Government and Scottish Government.
UK Government Minister for Scotland David Duguid chaired the meeting and said the taskforce had tackled problems which affected the seafood sector since Britain’s exit from the EU, many relating to paperwork now required by the EU.
Positive news for Scottish seafood exporters
Discussions took place today [Friday 14 May] during the seventh meeting of the Scottish seafood exports taskforce, which brings together key industry figures from the fishing industry with officials and senior politicians from the UK Government and Scottish Government.
UK Government Minister for Scotland David Duguid chaired the meeting and said the taskforce had tackled problems which affected the seafood sector since Britain’s exit from the EU, many relating to paperwork now required by the EU.
Following the meeting, Minister Duguid said:
This taskforce has been unusual as it has brought together industry experts from the catching, processing, exporting and aquaculture sectors as well as three ministers from the UK Government and the Scottish Government.
PROMISES OF frictionless trade with the EU have proven ill-founded AFTER FOUR months of pain for Scotland s fresh meat and seafood exporters, a cross party Westminster committee has officially confirmed what they already know – the UK government s Brexit deal did not deliver frictionless trade with the European Union. Scotland Food and Drink has welcomed the report – compiled by by the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee – as ‘hugely significant’, not least because it backed SFD s own call for the UK government to get back to the negotiating table with the EU and reach a new agreement on veterinary certification. As things stood, said SFD, arrangements at the border with the EU were unworkable and hugely damaging to business viability.
Export rules and container crisis threaten supply chain Lack of clarity regarding exports to the EU and a continued shortage of shipping containers are plaguing UK food manufacturers.
A report from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee report raised serious concerns for exporters of time-sensitive fresh and live seafood and meat shipments to the EU, particularly small- and medium-sized businesses.
It highlighted concerns that the new barriers these businesses are now facing could leave them unviable, and factories and that some companies and their employees could therefore relocate to the EU.
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health has welcomed the report, which reflected its concerns for the future of trade between the UK and EU.