A no-deal Brexit scenario may cause British farming exports to be stopped for six months, warns the National Farmer's Union. It stated that a no-deal situation will be 'catastrophic' for the industry as the UK will have to wait for six months to be certified as a third-country supplier.
This will have a huge impact on the food and drink sector in the UK, as exports from the EU were worth approximately £13.2 billion per year.
While the UK is in complete regulatory alignment with the EU, the occurrence of a no-deal Brexit will result in their suppliers having to undergo the same health check procedures as China and the USA.
The NFU's director general, Terry Jones: “What we are talking about in effect is a six-month trade embargo until such time we can get the product in, from that point we will face the European’s external tariff wall meaning we will be priced out of the market."
Speakerpolitics.co.uk also quoted NFU president, Minette Batters: "No deal is unpalatable and catastrophic for the industry and the more we hear, the more certain we are that our lines all along are right."
At the same time, new research suggests that food retailers face a mammoth £9.3 billion cost in the event of a no-deal Brexit. According to Barclays Corporate Banking, higher tariffs and customs costs could hit supermarkets and their supply chains hard if Britain crashes out of the EU without a deal.
The report also warned that shoppers would take on some of the extra cost in the price of their groceries. Food and drink from the EU can be slapped with an additional 27% tariff under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, compared to between 3% and 4% on non-food items.
Leaders in the food and drink industry have previously raised concerns that without a free trade deal, supply chains could be disrupted after Brexit.