All quiet in Dover: The calm before Brexit s border storm
Lizzy Burden and Richard Weiss, Bloomberg
Dec. 31, 2020
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An empty terminal at the Port of Dover in Dover, England, on Dec. 23, 2020.Bloomberg photo by Chris Ratcliffe.
On the day the U.K. makes its final break with the European Union, the ports are clear of truck backups, goods are moving smoothly and grocery-store shelves are well stocked.
Even so, U.K. businesses that rely on some 1.2 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) worth of products crossing the border each day are taking no chances. At 11 p.m. Thursday, Brexit gets real.
Companies were already stockpiling and exploring alternatives to the crowded truck-ferry route across the English Channel when France unexpectedly closed its border for two days last week, citing a fast-moving Covid-19 outbreak in the U.K. The disruption produced miles-long backups at the Port of Dover a warning shot for potential chaos as the Brexit transition period ends.
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Scottish seafood industry bosses fear many small firms could “go to the wall” after missing out on their biggest market of the year due to the chaos at the UK-French border.
French authorities announced late yesterday that journeys from the UK would be allowed to resume after the coronavirus ban was lifted.
But at least 1,500 freight lorries, many carrying produce to premium markets on the continent, had been sat at Dover since Sunday night, their high-value loads spoiling with every moment that passed.
By Charlotte Ryan, Siddharth Philip and Christopher Jasper (Bloomberg)
At the Peterhead fishing port in Scotland, prices for haddock and monkfish were inverted on Monday, skewed by a closed border with France and a ticking clock that threatened to render some of its catch worthless.
Haddock normally sold wholesale for up to 3 pounds ($4) per kilogram was going for 5 pounds, said Patrick Hayton, manager of Midland Fish Co., a processor in Fleetwood, England. He sources at Peterhead, Europe’s largest fishing port, and brings it back to northwest England for local sale.
Monkfish, by comparison, would normally be bound for European tables and command a premium over the Christmas holidays. But it was selling for 2 pounds a kilo, less than half its typical price.