Caithness fish exporter calls for change as shipments take up to three days longer to reach EU customers

A Caithness fish exporter has revealed how post-Brexit bureaucracy has resulted in shipments of fresh produce taking up to three days longer to reach vital European Union markets.

Will Calder jnr, director of Scrabster Seafoods, called for a change in border procedures so that, even if there is a problem with paperwork, exports can still be allowed into the EU without delay on the understanding that the correct documentation will be supplied within 48 hours.

Seafood businesses from many parts of Scotland have been struggling to get their goods to customers in France, Spain and other EU countries since the end of the Brexit transition period.

Mr Calder welcomed a newly announced £7.75 million Scottish Government funding package for the sector but said there should be greater recognition of the difficulties facing fishermen.

"The fishermen have been getting poorer prices for their product, for their export species," he said. "They're still going out there and risking their lives and not getting what they should be getting for it.

"We're continuing to have losses on the shore side but the catching sector has been equally as hard hit, and I think it is important that that's highlighted as well."

Scrabster Seafoods has a workforce of between 25 and 30, with an export trade worth £3 million to £5 million annually.

Exports consist mainly of white fish, with some shellfish. The main European markets are France and Spain, while produce also goes to China.

The Scottish seafood sector as a whole was reported to be losing £1 million a day after the new arrangements with the EU came into force at the turn of the year.

“When we first tried to ship it we couldn't get anything out, obviously," Mr Calder said. "We are getting goods through now but it's taking two to three days longer. Fish that I'm sending out on Tuesday won't be reaching my customers in the south of France until Friday and my customers in Spain until Saturday.

“We've gone from a one to three-day service to a four to six-day service, practically.

"If there's a day's delay then those goods won't arrive until Monday of next week so we're talking about nearly a week-old stuff. The customer needs a shelf life at the other end and that has been taken away in the time it is taking to get out there now.

"There needs to be a realisation from both governments that what we're sending out here is food, at the end of the day – it's not the nuclear arms race.

"Some people are getting their paperwork wrong and that is holding up other everybody else's shipments.

"There needs to be some realisation that they shouldn't just be parking these goods up for two days until the paperwork is corrected – they should allow the goods into the countries on the basis that they realise it's food. It's not a high-risk category, it's perishable food.

"They should be allowing the produce in on the basis that the correct paperwork must be sent to them within a 48-hour period, or something reasonable like that.

"You've got documents that are 30 pages long that you've got to fill in for every customer for every consignment. We've had everything right so far this year, but with the best will in the world there will come a day when somebody makes a mistake in our organisation – that's inevitable, you can't get it right the whole time.

"When we send goods to China, if there's a problem with the paperwork or somebody has filled the paperwork wrong – whether that's us or environmental health, that could be down to someone spelling a street name wrong – if that happens, they allow the goods into China on the basis that the correct paperwork is sent to them within 48 hours and there's no problem."

Mr Calder welcomed the funding package announced today by Scotland's fisheries secretary Fergus Ewing.

"It will help," Mr Calder said. "We've had genuine losses that we can demonstrate through this, particularly through the first few weeks that we've been sending goods out.

"We're concerned about sending goods out – we're not sending as much as we normally would because you're playing Russian roulette at the moment. You don't know if it's going to get there or not, so you can't just go full steam ahead.

"It's not going to make up for those losses, it's not going to make up for the fact that we're having to twiddle our thumbs on occasions because we don't know if the goods are going to get there or not.

"It's not going to make up for the losses that fishermen have suffered due to poor prices, due to lack of confidence in the market in getting goods out there. The fishermen aren't going to get compensation for that.

"We've had genuine losses that we can justify, and we have evidence of. But at the same time we're running at less capacity than we would be where we can't demonstrate those losses because we've simply not been doing the normal throughput of business."

Asked whether he had anticipated this level of disruption after the end of the transition period, Mr Calder said: "We were preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.

"Had we had a bit more to trade with, you could say, 'Well, it's going to be tough for a year or two but there are better times ahead.' I don't see any better times ahead because we have less fish to catch and we have more restrictions put on to us, so there really is no light at the end of the tunnel."

The funding from the Scottish Government is to support fishermen, seafood businesses and ports and harbours threatened by the effects of Covid-19 and Brexit.

It includes:

• £6.45 million for the Seafood Producers Resilience Fund which will provide support to eligible shellfish catchers and producers, in addition to trout farmers who have faced issues exporting to the EU and have lost access to domestic food markets as a result of coronavirus
• £1 million to be made available to support the investment plans of ports and harbours faced with a loss of income through landing fees
• Up to £300,000 to assist the welfare and emergency support activities of the Fishermen’s Mission in recognition of the hardship facing people working in the sector

Mr Ewing said: “In the absence of any further clarity on resilience funding from the UK government we are stepping in to support the industry and coastal communities across Scotland and ensuring we meet the emergency needs of crews by providing welfare support through the Fishermen’s Mission. In addition to this funding, last week we also supported calls for a new dedicated task force, and announced funding for two new experts to help businesses navigate the new processes and requirements.

“Both shellfish and trout businesses who have faced losses due to Covid-19 hospitality closures across Europe are now losing products or facing additional costs due to border disruption and new non-tariff barriers. It’s not just exporting – we know this has serious knock-on effects that ripple right through the supply chain from boats struggling to land at ports to not being able to sell their catch.

“The fund for shellfish and trout businesses will help the sector survive the ongoing loss of domestic sales due to Covid-19 and the current immediate challenges of Brexit, giving them some breathing space and allowing businesses to make the changes they need to adapt to the new, tougher, trading realities.”

Full details of the Seafood Producers Resilience Fund will be available on the Marine Scotland section of the Scottish Government website from Friday.

As previously reported, a specialist team is being assembled to help seafood exporters get their trade with the EU back on track.

UK environment secretary George Eustice has said that the Westminster government's £23 million scheme for the sector "will provide crucial support for fishermen and seafood exporters".

He said: "We are continuing to work closely with the fishing and aquaculture sectors to make sure that they are supported, and can continue to fish while contributing to the economies of our coastal communities."

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