The U.K. government has been called upon by Scotland’s salmon farming sector to do all it can to speed up the removal of the post-Brexit paperwork system for exporting goods to the European Union.
Salmon Scotland Chief Executive Tavish Scott warned the government his member-companies have faced an extra GBP 3 million (USD 3.9 million, EUR 3.6 million) in annual export costs since the U.K. left the E.U.
In a letter to U.K. Fisheries Minister Victoria Prentis, Scott called for the shift to a digital export health certificate (EHC) system to be accelerated. The new system is due to replace the costly paper process companies are currently having to endure, but as of yet there is no date for the implementation and rollout.
Scott said that trials of the new online system, with consignments of salmon being sent to the E.U. using digital certificates, have shown what can be achieved in terms of efficiency and cost reduction for the wider seafood industry.
“I would reiterate how important it is to get the new system up and running as soon as possible,” he wrote. “Salmon producing companies are already having to cope with steeply rising production costs (most notably in feed and fuel), and now face increased paperwork costs because of the EHC changes which were introduced in January (2021).”
The industry expects that a digital EHC will greatly streamline the exporting process, Scott said.
“We really believe that the time taken to process EHCs will reduce considerably when the system is moved online, that the number of errors will be massively reduced and the whole system will need fewer staff and less time to process – cutting down the costs and delays which are plaguing the system at the moment,” he said.
Scott also urged the U.K. government to cover the extra costs being imposed on businesses as a direct result of the current export system.
Overseas sales of Scottish salmon exceeded GBP 600 million (USD 787.9 million, EUR 719.9 million) in 2021, while GBP 372 million (USD 488.4 million, EUR 446.3 million) worth of salmon went to the U.K. market.
Photo courtesy of the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation
