By James Davey
LONDON (Reuters) - Checks of fruit and vegetables entering Britain from the European Union will not start before the end of October, the government said on Tuesday, offering some relief to the food industry which is worried about new post-Brexit port delays.
The first phase of Britain's new post-Brexit import system for food and fresh products is due to come into force on Wednesday, having been postponed five times due to worries about border disruption and the cost-of-living crisis.
Initially, EU exporters of so-called medium risk animal and plant products will be required to present export health and phytosanitary certificates to British authorities.
Physical checks on shipments will only start on April 30 followed by a requirement for safety and security certificates from Oct. 31.
Mindful of delays when the EU started checking imports from Britain in 2021, British businesses have warned of more disruption, saying EU exporters are not ready for the UK changes and Britain's port infrastructure might be unprepared too.
Britain's Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) added to the confusion last week when it unexpectedly reclassified a selection of fruit and vegetables from "low" to "medium" risk on its UK Plant Health Information Portal.
But it also put a temporary "easement" in place, allowing the products to continue being treated as low risk and therefore not subject to pre-notification requirements, phytosanitary certification or physical inspections until Oct. 31 2024.
The department later removed the reference to Oct. 31, leaving no firm date for when the easement would be removed.
Defra said on Tuesday the easement was expected to be in place until "at least" October 2024 and the government would give industry at least three months to prepare for any changes.
Delaying physical checks beyond October might allow the government to avoid the embarrassment of any disruption during a possible national election campaign, which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he expects in the second half of the year.
However, it could create problems later as the proportion of fresh produce Britain imports from the EU in the winter months rises to 70%.
“The way these changes have been handled is concerning," said Marco Forgione, Director General of The Institute of Export and International Trade, which represents UK importers.
"At a time when business is preparing for the most significant modernisation of the UK border in several generations the lack of communication on this reclassification of fruit and vegetable products is not very encouraging."
The Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) has estimated the reclassification would add 200 million pounds ($253 million) a year to import costs and would be felt by consumers.
The UK government has said the inflationary impact of the new Border Target (NYSE:TGT) Operating Model system will be less than 0.2 percentage points over a three-year period.
($1 = 0.7891 pounds)