Calls for the army to step in
Calais situation no longer sustainable
Up to £2 million pounds is lost each week as suppliers are forced to dump perishable goods amid worsening levels of security at the port of Calais, freight bosses claimed.
Some 3,000 migrants from countries including Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia and Syria currently live in makeshift camps close to the French port.
Peter Davis, from Davis Worldwide said that two weeks ago one of his lorries was completely ransacked and everything was tipped out, "What is happing now is going on more and more, especially in Calais. The immigrants are not getting any kind of support and they are seriously up in numbers at the port trying to get across."
"What they are doing now is going around in groups of about 200 and forcing the drivers out of the lorries and then emptying the lorries and selling the goods, they are no longer just trying to board. If for example you have cherries on board, 200 trays worth 10 Euro each, it is good money."
This happened to one of Peter's loads just last week outside the port while the police stood watching. The French haulier who owned the truck said the only solution now is for the army to come out as the police can't handle it.
According to Peter, the immigrants are coming into Italy and Greece on boats and making their way to Spain where the Spanish are giving them work in Murcia. "This is feeding the problem as these guys now earn enough to travel to Calais, where they think if they get over to England a pot of gold is waiting."
"Another problem now is that insurance companies will no longer insure hauliers if they go through Calais, we are now having to look at other options such as Cherbourg - Poole and more via Holland which is costing more money and time. Time is something which you don't always have with fresh produce. It costs more to cross there as well as an extra day. The retailers and caterers which we deal with need to have the produce at a guaranteed time. We are having to reschedule deliveries, either because we are going through Cherbourg - Poole or because there is now up to 9 hours delay to get through Calais."
Nigel Jenney from the UK's Fresh Produce Consortium is very concerned about the worsening situation at the European ports, "A year ago stowaways were a rare occurrence, 6 months ago it was increasing but in the last few months the situation has gotten much worse. The FPC has been working on detailed guidance notes for our members and we have met with Ministers and are now part of a working group to encourage the UK government and others to fundamentally improve the situation, we have had a lot of national media coverage and written to Ministers calling for urgent action on this matter and are encouraging members to write to local MPs too."
"Some companies are moving to other ports to avoid Calais, but to be fair it is not just a problem at Calais port, they are also getting into vehicles around the Calais area as well as hundreds of miles away in other parts of France and Spain. There must also be more vigilance in those places and the Governments must actively do more, it is a very difficult situation. When the vehicles arrive at the ports only a very small number can be inspected, so the responsibility does not just lie with the ports. I accept it takes time and effort and even more time if stowaways are found but ultimately if they get to the fresh produce destinations in the UK the situation has to be managed anyway."
He goes on to say that this situation is not sustainable and the level of incidents has risen rapidly and the cost to the industry has become significant. It's not just the fresh produce industry which is being affected, they are targeting any vehicles which they can gain access to.
"As an industry we are working very hard, I accept that these people are absolutely desperate, but many of these people are being put into vehicles by organised gangs, it's not enough to just lock the vehicles, they are taking the doors off then replacing them so the lock which was put on is still intact, this takes organisation and time," said Jenney.
Although Euro Tunnel are in the process of finishing a major new lorry park which is self contained and very difficult to break into, the lorries still have to queue to get into this compound for an hour or more, according to Peter Davis. They then have to wait 2-3 hours to get screened to check for immigrants then queue again to get in to the car park during this time the lorries are vulnerable to the immigrants.
Some drivers are now saying they won't go through Calais any more even if they are not responsible for the goods or lorry.
French transport union are lobbying to the government to bring in the army, but is this the solution? These people have come from war zones, travelled thousands of miles and have nothing left to loose.
Peter said that 360 immigrants are caught on lorries each day they are arrested and then let go, just to go straight back to the port.
"Calais lives off the Brits who are returning home after being on the continent, but now all the caravanning and travel associations are advising people not to stay in Calais unless the hotel is secure and you can secure your car, tourists are also getting robbed in the town. They are being told not to stop in Calais at all as it is too dangerous, the hotels and restaurants say pre bookings for June and July are less than half of that of last year," explains Peter.
"Calais is the life blood for UK importers, we have 10 lorries coming in today and this is a quiet day, I can say that there will probably be an attempt to break into every one of these lorries and they will probably succeed with at least one. If there has been a break-in the whole load is declared unfit for human consumption, the truck and driver is tied up for 24- 48 hours as the truck is sent to a special depot in France to be emptied at a specially controlled area."
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) is pressing the French government to take action on the migrant situation in Calais. FTA deputy chief executive James Hookham spoke to Immigration and Security minister James Brokenshireto highlight the detrimental effect on the UK supply chain because of the situation.
The Association wrote to the Mayor of Calais asking for her support in lobbying the French and British governments and the European Commission to find a solution to the problem, but has yet to receive a response.