Brexit: big UK stores stockpile European goods

Zeebrugge – In the Belgian port of Zeebrugge, robot lift trucks are working flat out to stockpile and ship Europe’s biggest brands to British supermarkets before the New Year Brexit deadline heralds new trade barriers.

Driverless vehicles hoist and stack pallet after pallet of wine, water and milk at a frenzied pace, readying it for ferry transport across the channel to Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s.

From 1 January, the UK will be outside the European Union and exporters will face a barrage of new regulations and checks that are expected to cause delays and shortages for British shoppers.

And if the ongoing post-Brexit trade talks between Britain and the European Commission fail to reach agreement, a return to trade tariffs will push prices up.

Authorities insist they are ready for the shock, but businesses like the ECS-2XL logistics platform in Zeebrugge have not stood by waiting for instructions.

For the past 18 months the firm, which runs a depot as large as 10 football fields, has been asking suppliers for details on the value of shipments – to calculate tariffs.

“We’ve been running after them,” says Charlotte Danneels, one of it managers. “We really had to insist on them being in order.

“As late as last week they were saying ‘ There’ll be a deal, you don’t need all that.

“That’s starting to change.” Between 250 and 300 suppliers, including huge brands like Red Bull and Danone, use the 70 000-pallet Zeebrugge depot to supply seven leading UK supermarket chains.

The run up to Christmas would normally be a busy period anyway – after 47 years inside the union, British consumers are fond of all manner of continental treats with their holiday meals.

And the coronavirus pandemic has driven more families on both sides of the straits of Dover to cook more at home, further driving up demand. –