On the 24th June 2021, Francis Murray presented an overview of the impacts of Brexit on UK seafood trade at a webinar arranged by EUROFISH international organisation. Fellow speakers were Ivan Bartolo from Seafish, James Green from the Whitstable Oyster Company and Carlos Da Concieicao from seafood trading company T&S Enterprises (London) Ltd. Also taking part on the panel were three Stirling associates - James Young, John Bostock and MSc course alumni Olumide Sobayo, who is also working for T&S Enterprises in charge of food safety and quality assurance.

Francis set out the general picture on UK seafood production and trade and then considered how this has changed in the months following the end of the Brexit transition period and start of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Although also complicated by Covid-19 impacts, the data shows a significant fall in trade between the EU and UK with an increase in trade with other countries, especially Norway. Whilst there is much anecdotal evidence of higher cost of trading, limited data on consumer prices suggest relatively little impact.

The second speaker was James Green, who shared his experience as a shellfish producer who’s main market, France, was mostly closed overnight at the end of the transition period. He shared the strategies he has used to adapt including increased exports to Hong Kong and additional marketing in the UK. James was followed by Ivan Bartolo who gave a presentation on the regulatory changes, how these have been implemented and the impacts on trade patterns. This brought out the complexities for seafood traders as seafood which does not attract duty when imported directly into the UK, can attract duty when imported via the EU. The additional paperwork, especially catch certificates and health checks have been a substantial obstacle for smaller companies, only partly solved through groupage (aggregating smaller consignments into larger ones). The final speaker was Carlos Da Concieicao who described very substantial impacts on both import and export business involving longer shipping times and higher prices. His company had to cease exports to the EU entirely and finds it easier to import from Japan than the EU.

The webinar concluded with some lively discussion prompted by questions from the participants and the webinar facilitator Aleksandra Petersen from Eurofish, although Jimmy Young’s question as to whether any of the participants had identified an opportunity for seafood trade that was not possible whilst the UK was a member of the EU, was met by a somewhat awkward silence!

The full webinar can be viewed via the EUROFISH website, or directly below.