Retail giant Marks & Spencer warns suppliers over EU border chaos

Marks & Spencer has held an emergency meeting with 40 of its top European food suppliers amid fears EU member states and the UK are not ready for the introduction of stringent border controls within a month. 

New restrictions being introduced from October 1 are expected to disrupt imports from the EU – the source of a quarter of Britain’s food. 

Industry experts expect a succession of further controls to be brought in between then and January will cause chaos as food supplies are refused entry or delayed amid a tangle of bureaucracy with drivers being asked to supply up to 700 pages of documents at borders. 

The slow movement of goods has already seen Sainsbury’s temporarily shore up gaps on shelves in its Northern Ireland shops with produce from local suppliers – including its retail rival Spar. 

Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s and others are also subject to numerous product shortages of fresh and ‘composite’ food – that containing animal products – in the province. 

But the nightmare of red tape bedding in the Northern Ireland Protocol, set up to ease trade between the British mainland and the province, could be dwarfed by the chaos of importing goods from the EU when the full force of restrictions is imposed by Brussels from next month. 

The Mail on Sunday has learned the retail giant’s bosses at the meeting on Friday warned suppliers from across the Continent that authorities in the UK and the EU are not prepared for the border rule changes, affecting the movement of fresh meat and fish. Some national authorities in the EU have even failed to translate the necessary documents into local languages, they warned. 

A letter has been circulated this weekend among M&S suppliers across Europe to warn that port facilities in Wales, Scotland and England will not be ready in time for physical checks on consignments scheduled to begin at the end of the year. 

It also raised the alarm over shortages of vets in European countries. They will be needed to sign food health certificates for goods containing animal products – including meat, fish, dairy products, lasagne, pepperoni pizza and even ice cream – destined for the UK. It blamed ‘outdated and burden – some’ border systems that threaten the flow of food from Europe unless the UK and the EU agree action. 

Environment Secretary George Eustice has branded excessive demands placed on exports of British goods as ‘bonkers’ given the high standard required in farms and food processing plants. 

One senior food industry source said: ‘We expected friction at borders, but not this much friction.’ 

A Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs spokesman said importers and exporters ‘should continue to prepare for the new checks coming in from October 1’. 

He said: ‘We have taken a pragmatic approach to their introduction, phasing them in over a number of months [and implementing them later than originally planned] to give businesses time to adapt.’ 

M&S chairman Archie Norman has urged the EU and UK to work on closer ‘common sense’ reciprocity which means lowering the number of checks and stringent demands for minutely detailed documentation. 

He also wants Defra and the EU to adopt a scheme of digital checks aimed at easing the burden on drivers who are currently required to carry large files of paperwork on each trip – sometimes only to be turned back because of errors in the fine detail. 

In its letter to suppliers, M&S said ‘high volume, slow, paper-based’ documentation ‘in short doesn’t work’. 

It added that ‘it is clear from the information you have shared with us – as well as our own intelligence – that neither the UK Government or EU member state authorities are going to be ready’ for the changes due to begin on October 1 or for the physical checks starting at the beginning of next year. 

Mario Furer, UK managing director of Spanish charcuterie and fresh meat firm Noel Foods and an M&S supplier, said documentation demands and new border checks ‘pose a significant risk to our supply chain’. 

He added: ‘Whilst we have been preparing for this moment for the last year, there are many elements in the supply chain that are out of our direct control.’ 

Paolo Lasagni, managing director of M&S wine supplier Bosco Viticultori, said: ‘What we are delivering now is exactly the same as before Brexit. It would be great if the EU and Britain could find a sort of simplification agreement.’