NPA vice chairman Rob Mutimer and chief executive Zoe Davies have highlighted the problems the industry is currently facing in exporting products on regional news.
There has been widespread coverage of the concerns raised by the NPA in a press release yesterday, highlighting how the pig sector is being brought to a standstill as a result of the new checks and paperwork required to export meat to the EU and the subsequent delays in shipments.
ITV Anglia visited Rob’s farm and the feature was broadcast on Thursday, highlighting the fact that the cull sow market has come to a standstill due to the ‘unprecedented delays’ at ports.
You can view the feature HERE.
Rob highlighted the different sets of rules applying to imports and exports. “We have to accept that there always going to be difficulties with the change,” he said. “But it does seem now that the Europeans can get product in this country very easily and the Government is helping get product in over the water and getting trucks returned.
“But we are finding we cannot get our product over to the factories in Germany that buy the meat that we are so desperate to move.”
Dr Davies was also interviewed, telling the reporter: “It has been absolutely ridiculous in terms of the amount of bureaucracy our exporters have to comply with.
“We clearly have a situation where the European Union is in no way wanting to make this easy for us – in fact it is doing everything it can to make things more difficult for us. Up to 30% of consignments are being checked, compared with other third countries to the EU, where they only have to check 1%.”
The NPA is calling for the Government to intervene to help speed the process up. The Government said it was working with traders to support them during the transition and would ‘closely monitor the situation to ensure disruption is minimised’.
NPA chairman Richard Lister and Dr Davies are also scheduled to discuss the issue on Tyne Tees news later today.