Talks go down to the wire

origin will require certain veterinary certs.

In addition, food importers may require to be registered with the Department of Agriculture, provide advance notice of importation and meet other packaging and labelling laws.

Finally, in some cases, imports are only allowed from approved establishments. This can slow down the process of clearance and can add additional costs — a problem for perishable products in particular.

The UK position in this regard is not yet known, but should be made clearer in the coming weeks.

With regards to food legislation, there are strict EU controls on food labelling and standards which imports from the UK will now need to comply with.

I recommend obtaining specialist advice from a food law yer in this area. There are resources available to support businesses with their Brexit preparations; including several Brexit funding options such as the Brexit Loan Scheme, the Enterprise Ireland Be Prepared Grant, Bord Bia’s training and preparation programmes. It cannot be emphasised strongly enough that businesses need to consider every element of Brexit including border delays, supply chains, contracts and price changes.

If you are involved in importing or exporting food, agricultural products or livestock, you need to start preparing for the impact of Brexit as a matter of urgency. As this is an extremely complicated area, we recommend obtaining specialist support.

In addition, I would strongly recommend contacting Bord Bia who run a number of Brexit support and training workshops both in customs and other areas such as supply chain and currency which will all be impacted by Brexit.

We are now close to the wire with a high risk of a no deal Brexit happening by default. Therefore, it’s become vital that businesses continue to prepare for Brexit or immediately start if they have not done so.

Carol Lynch (partner) BDO Customs and International Trade Services department

IF YOU ARE INVOLVED IN IMPORTING OR EXPORTING... YOU NEED TO START PREPARING FOR THE IMPACT OF BREXIT AS A MATTER OF URGENCY