Mike is proud to be an active voice for the UK perishable logistics sector. His most recent opinion piece has been well received by the media. Thank you to FPJ (Fresh Produce Journal) for publishing this important commentary, and to FPC FreshTalk Daily for also reporting on these concerns, as well as Dairy Industries International.

PML Seafrigo CEO Mike Parr 

The UK logistics sector has been hit hard by the added cost, complexity and uncertainty of trading since Brexit. And the government continues to make life difficult. The Safety & Security (S&S) declarations due to come into force at the end of January will affect hauliers handling imported goods if they are not suitably prepared.

To be fully compliant, regulated products coming into the UK must have the correct Phytosanitary or Health (Sanitary) documentation raised by the exporter, and the documentation needs to be sent to the importer or their intermediary prior to the shipment’s arrival in the UK.

Such goods must be pre-notified on the Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS) and documents need to be sent to the importer or their intermediary prior to the shipment’s arrival in Britain. If selected for a physical examination, then goods need to be presented to an Inland Border Facility or a Control Point, as selected in IPAFFS.

As has been widely debated, this is likely to cause severe disruption to the importer, the retailer and ultimately the consumer. PML Seafrigo has raised the question with customs of why the S&S declarations cannot be consolidated within the pre-lodged import declarations, which hauliers are already expected to submit. To date, we’ve received no response to this logical suggestion.

Looking at the S&S declarations from the exporter’s perspective, we are aware that phytosanitary certificates (PCs) can take anything up to five days to raise, dependent on the availability of an Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) official.

For certain crops, such as berries, this five-day window is inconsistent with the exporter being able to assess whether or not the product is ready for export on that specific date. We know that countries such as The Netherlands have embraced technology to overcome these issues, allowing the producer to send a video to the Defra equivalent. If there is no response within two hours, this is interpreted as immediate approval. Why can the same approach not be adopted in the UK?

The voluntary Plant Health Exports Audited Trader Scheme (PHEATS) enabled authorised persons to perform certain phytosanitary actions and carry out their own inspections, thereby raising PCs in house post-inspection by staff who have been trained by Defra.

The scheme was launched as a pilot, but at this juncture there is no firm indication of it being rolled out to exporters or their agents. In addition, the cost of entry to the scheme in terms of both hours and fees is cost-prohibitive to some growers, impacting on their ability to profit from the valuable export market.

Add to the above the regular government U-turns, which I’ve vocalised on numerous occasions, and you have the perfect storm. Not only are these frustrating, they also represent a considerable waste of time as forwarders and businesses dedicate costly resource to ensuring they remain up to date with the latest import and export protocols.

I commented last year that hauliers are already showing a resistance to transporting goods to the UK due to the increased checks and associated disruption. The net result will be less fruit and vegetables on the shelves and higher prices, caused by less hauliers moving goods, the reduced shelf life and even destruction of consignments following delays, and more producers simply being unable to deal with the rising costs associated with exporting to the UK.

Without wishing to sound like a broken record, this is once again an example of the government failing to pay heed to those working at the coalface. 

2025 is destined to be a very challenging year for all those involved in the perishable food supply chain.

– Mike Parr, PML Seafrigo CEO

The post UK Border Chaos to Reduce Fresh Produce on Shelves appeared first on PML.

The excessive handling charges, combined with the lengthy delays are likely to trigger an enhanced interest in shifting to sea freight, especially as exporters continue to identify new and inventive ways to maintain temperature control whilst the goods are in transit. At PML, we are experiencing an increase of 10-15% in our sea freight offering, compared to the same period last year.

Pricing post covid

It was inevitable that the pandemic would prove disruptive for those responsible for the transfer of perishable goods, both in terms of availability of trade routes and also price increases. Post covid, while we are not seeing such astronomical hikes in pricing, the air freight rates have still not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Sadly, this has meant many companies have been forced out of business as a result of untenable inflated operational and trading costs.

Delays for the foreseeable

News stories detailing the significant delays at UK ports, especially Dover have become a regular item across various media channels. Brexit and shortage of HGV drivers (many European drivers are now unwilling to drive in the UK due to the ULEZ charges, poor welfare facilities and anticipated holdups) have played a key part in this issue and unless dramatic changes are forthcoming, it looks likely that these will continue and indeed get worse. In October the new inspection parameters for imported goods coming into the UK will be activated and unless the government takes heed of the feedback from logistics firms working within the fresh produce sector, this will take the delays to a whole new level.

Innovating the sector

PML has teamed up with European Forwarder Tulpin Group to forge a strategic alliance designed to speed up the transfer of perishable goods from Egypt to the UK.

PML takes responsibility for the last mile delivery of fruit and vegetable consignments that have been shipped by air from Egypt. The agreement comprises Tulpin Group’s own customs agency / haulage company All-Trade/Ostendfresh collecting the freight from Ostend airport and loading into trailers. The trailers are driven to the ports of Dunkirk and Calais and the consignment dropped onto a RoRo ferry destined for the Port of Dover. Tulpin Group advises PML in advance of any required information to enable a seamless customs clearance and potential inspection. PML collects the trailers from Dover, taking them to the company’s state-of-the-art logistics and transport hub at Lympne, Kent for clearance via the company’s approved Border Control Post. After clearance, PML delivers to the end customer and then returns the trailers to the port for transfer back to Belgium, to enable the process to be repeated. It is anticipated that during the peak season, there are up to 20 trailer movements per day.

The advantages to this arrangement include a faster turnaround of trailers allowing for more freight to be moved; no requirement for down time for EU drivers saving time and money; elimination of the risk of EU drivers being caught up in queues resulting in problems with managing driver schedules / drivers becoming frustrated and addressing the growing reluctance for EU drivers to drive to the UK post Brexit.

PML has already handled 7.5 million kilos worth of Egyptian strawberries through the partnership, around 800 trucks worth. This is alongside its clearance operations in Kent out of Morocco of mixed berries, which amounts to clearing 1,200 trucks, proving both trade routes have been a roaring success.

The post Logistics and supply chain solutions for temperature-sensitive goods continue to experience challenging conditions post covid. appeared first on PML.