Summary
The UK Fresh Produce Consortium and British Retail Consortium have both independently highlighted the importance to UK consumers of ensuring continuity in access to the UK market for third country supplier post-BREXIT. These UK bodies are potentially value able allies for the ACP in protecting their export interests. Meanwhile countries like Peru are actively seeking new bilateral trade arrangements with the UK.
The Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) is urging the UK government to amongst other things:
- Secure ‘beneficial trade agreements which will provide a seamless transition post-BREXIT with the European Union and global trading partners’;
- Build ‘an efficient and effective regulatory framework which reduces the burden on industry’;
- Provide ‘assurances that UK government funding will be in place to maintain competitiveness for UK growers’.
This needs to be seen in a context where the UK imports 67% of its fresh fruit and vegetables, in order to ensure year round supplies. This also includes products which simply cannot be produced in the UK. According to the Fresh Produce Consortium it is vital that the UK Government ‘secure a beneficial trading agreement with the EU as well as with third countries in order to meet demand from UK consumers for fresh produce all year round’. The FPC argues ‘the viability of many UK businesses depends on instilling confidence now in the UK market for investors and getting the detail right for future trading and regulation’.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) for its part, has highlighted the danger of higher consumer prices immediately post-BREXIT if the UK Government does not set in place mechanisms for establishing new trade details to replace the trade arrangements which will lapse as a result of the UK’s departure from the EU. BRC has offered to work with the UK government in ‘identifying any opportunities for new trade deals’.
Meanwhile the Peruvian government is looking for early discussions with the UK government on a bilateral trade agreement, which ‘will keep the flow of non-traditional exports’ going. Peru currently exports more than US$ 600 million of products to the UK. In the past five years overall Peruvian exports to the UK have grown at a rate of 9.2% per annum, while agro-food exports increased at a rate of 22.2% per annum. Avocadoes, fresh asparagus, citrus, mangoes, quinoa, pomegranates, lemons, blue berries and essential oils are the main agro-food products exported from Peru to the UK. Peru is looking to double the value of its exports to the UK post BREXIT to US$ 1,200 million.
According to Juan Varillias the head of Peruvian Exporters Association (ADEX) ‘the British authorities are looking for the fastest way to keep all the integration commitments they have with all their trading partners, especially those that derive from the FTA with the European Union’. On this basis he expects alternative bilateral trade arrangements to be set in place ‘without much negotiation’.
Sources:
Freshplaza.com, ‘FPC urges UK Government to listen and learn’, 18 October 2016
http://www.freshplaza.com/article/165225/FPC-urges-UK-Government-to-listen-and-learn
The Guardian, ‘Prices will shoot up if UK fails to get EU single market access, retailers warn’, 10 October 2016
Freshplaza.com, ‘Peru seeks FTA with the UK to continue exports post Brexit’, 1 November 2016
http://www.freshplaza.com/article/165982/Peru-seeks-FTA-with-the-UK-to-continue-exports-post-Brexit
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Comment and Analysis The line being taken by the UK Fresh Produce Consortium would appear to be consistent with calls for the UK to prepare legislative measures to extend existing trade agreement market access concessions on a unilateral transitional basis from day 1 of BREXIT, so as to avoid major trade disruptions. Bodies like the Fresh Produce Consortium are potentially valuable allies for ACP Governments seeking to avert any disruption of current exports to the UK market as a result of the UK’s departure from the EU.
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Key words: BREXIT, Area for Posting: BREXIT, EPA General, SADC EPA, West African EPA, central African EPA EAC EPA, ESA EPA, Caribbean EPA, Pacific EPA
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