SCOTLAND'S salmon industry has called for urgent action to tackle Brexit-related delays at Dover, with concerns over fresh fish being left to “rot in lorries”.
Trade organisation Salmon Scotland held a meeting with UK fisheries minister Victoria Prentis on Tuesday morning to highlight the disruption being caused.
Fresh salmon from Scotland usually arrives in France the following morning, but in recent weeks there have been delays of up to 48 hours due to queues on the UK side of the Channel.
And the chaos on the roads in recent weeks has seen at least one day when no fresh salmon reached France at all, according to Salmon Scotland.
“These are perishable products. Unlike a tin of beans they cannot be sitting in a queue in the back of a truck,” a spokesperson for the trade body told The Guardian.
“The impacts of the border controls were identified, mitigation measures were identified but for some reason the government has decided not to implement them.”
France is the top market for the Scottish salmon, which is the UK’s biggest food export.
Salmon Scotland said immediate contingency plans for perishable goods to have priority status when delays occur at peak times such as the summer holidays, but also called for a “longer-term permanent post-Brexit solution”.
It pointed out the main competitor in the European market is Norway, which is not experiencing the same disruption to exports.
In a statement Scott said the meeting was a welcome opportunity to set out the “risk to the Scottish and UK economies unless urgent action is taken”.
“As the UK’s biggest food export, it is vital for jobs in Scotland and for the UK economy that we avoid any hold-ups at the Channel,” he said.
“Fresh Scottish salmon is perishable and needs to arrive with customers as quickly as possible.
“We have urged the UK Government to prioritise the movement of perishable goods.”
SNP international trade spokesperson Drew Hendry MP said: “We have, yet again, a situation where quality Scottish exports could rot in lorries before reaching its buyer, spelling disaster for the hardworking and skilled Scottish fishermen and distribution personnel.
“Scottish salmon is world-renowned for its quality and excellence, as well as being one of the UK’s biggest food exports - the UK government needs to recognise the importance of this product, and all of Scotland’s produce, by granting priority status in cross-channel exports."
But he added: "It’s a sad situation that even has to be considered.
"Before Brexit this wasn’t an issue and Scottish food and drink was able to freely and efficiently flow to delighted buyers across the world - this is another example of the Tory’s hard-brexit damaging Scotland's industries and economy.
“Brexit is a disastrous economic hit that Scotland wasn’t prepared to take and shouldn’t be forced to endure any longer.”
A UK Government spokesperson said: “Scottish Salmon is an export success story worth hundreds of millions of pounds, and we are committed to improving the UK imports and exports process for traders.
“Prioritising specific consignments would impact other traffic movements, however we continue to work closely with the Port of Dover, Kent Resilience Forum and the French Government to ensure the flow of all goods is maintained.”
