What was interesting in the regional break down is that Boston and South Holland were the regions with the strongest Brexit vote, but are some of the main producing regions in England. While every region in Scotland voted to Remain, which may in turn lead to a separate deal with the EU or ultimately a second Independence referendum.
Players in the UK trade were reluctant to comment on the outcome and possible consequences of the referendum but the overwhelming feeling seemed to be shock and disbelief that the population had voted to leave the EU.
Nigel Jenney, Fresh Produce Consortium:
FPC recognises that the decision taken today by the UK public to vote to leave the European Union will have a number of impacts on the future of UK trading in fresh fruit, vegetables and cut flowers.
We are requesting to meet with key UK government departments and agencies in the near future to discuss the interim position and to give our members as much advice as possible in the following areas:
• Customs tariffs
• Recruitment of foreign workers
• Regulations, e.g. food safety, plant health, marketing standards, environment
• EU funding and Common Agricultural Policy
• Alternative access to the EU Single Market
• International trade agreements
• Research and innovation.
"The transition towards the UK leaving the European Union will take some time, potentially two years, and therefore it is likely that there will be no immediate changes to regulatory requirements for imports and exports. There will need to be a considerable amount of work undertaken to develop the UK’s new trading arrangements and FPC will be engaging in this process with immediate effect to lobby for the most commercially advantageous position for our members."
Peter Davis, Davis Worldwide:
"To wake up and find we were out was a shock for all of us... the market reacted with sterling falling 10% but since has regained some of the losses. Markets are in disarray nobody knows what to do, a lot of our suppliers have told us they will no longer serve us in sterling, others have told us that they are leaving the UK market for a while until things settle down. Those that have not yet bought currency forward will lose the most."
"Long term we will see phyto certificates and movement documents required for movement of goods to and from Europe and the system of intrastate will disappear, so the question of how statistics are gathered and how VAT will work across borders has still to be negotiated." He askeds, "What about the CAP? Many farmers have been calling me this morning asking me what will happen with the rebates and subsidies that they get at the moment from E.U."
"There will of course be border controls established in the ports and goods and lorries will have to go through border controls, especially fresh produce as this could be subject to several customs stipulations. We will also see longer delays in ports as the goods will take longer to clear and the re establishment of transitaires in the ports to clear EU products and for export we will be required to do a lot more work in order to get the paperwork in place for movement of goods in the EU."
"Russia loves to work with individuals and is desperate to make a difference in Europe. I think Russia will be a major player in the UK in the future and we will see doors opening for us into Russia very quickly."
Davis Worldwide have an office in Holland and Peter said there will be certainly be more paperwork, "but we see the same market as before, it going to mean getting new protocols in place but we are sure that we will be able to work well in the new conditions. We will however probably need more technicians in order to handle the extra paperwork."
Importer/exporter, Northern Ireland
"No one really expected this result peopleare in shock, I voted to leave to make a point, but nevertheless I'm happywith the outcome. The EU is going in the wrong direction, but there are a lotof good points as well. Great Britain is called Great Britain for a reason andwe can be a strong nation"
"It will pose massive problems for us hereas we have a lot of Euro receivables, we are meeting this morning to see what needs to bedone, but the biggest concern is the value of pound as we trade with the EU and US. But we are used to dealing with these challenges."
As for the customs procedures, he said it was an interesting question, but things have moved forward and with the technology available these daysit will not be like going back to the days of waiting hours at the border for paperwork to besorted out. The company also employs a lot of foreign labour who have beenthere for many years and are well established in Northern Ireland, he does understand that thesituation could different in northern England, but the issues are not just withpeople from within the EU, he does not see the free movement of people changing
"It will be interesting to see what happens both long termand short term."
Others in the trade did not think much would change as the UK will remain an import country and needs foreign labour in order to get the various harvests in. One importer said it was very short sighted, "We are a long way from being self sufficient. The strength of being in the EU was that we had the pound but that will now become our weakness. A vast number of the population voted on the issue of immigration, but the vote was about a lot more than that and it will have major consequences."
Spanish organisation FEPEX said that Brexit should not affect the commercial exchange in the fruit and vegetables sector. "Right now the main concern is if the exchange rate evolution from pounds to Euro will affect the exports."
Reactions from Dutch traders
Gert Mulder, GroentenFruit Huis:
We regret the Brexit, but hope trade relations between both countries, which have been carefully built in recent years, will not suffer. The Dutch and British markets have been closely connected for years. The United Kingdom is the second export market for the Netherlands. There is much mutual trust in the commercial ties between the UK and the Netherlands. The decision is about the influence of Brussels. Let all things that are well taken care of concerning trade relations with the UK be maintained.
Marcel Paul, commercial manager QPI:
I did not expect this result. I have spoken to many people in the UK, but none were in favour of an exit. The result is completely unexpected to everyone. What does surprise me is that hardly any actual arguments were mentioned during the campaign, it was all purely sentiment. The campaign had nothing to do with the economy, or things that actually matter.
I do not fear the consequences at all. In the short term nothing will change. Market prices are the same to everyone now. The pound fluctuates and is now substantially different from the dollar, but the euro has also been devalued. When we started QPI eighteen years ago, we bought Dutch tomatoes at auction for guilders, which we then sold in the UK for pounds, which had more variables than it does now. We feel quite laconically about it all. Everything we do has been covered, only the exporters who have not done that, are now in trouble.
Furthermore, it will take at least two years to finish negotiating, but even after that I expect no differences in the fresh produce sector exporting to the UK. More than half of all food is imported, and that need for food will remain. That is why I am also not expecting import levies, such as Norway has. We are well intertwined with a number of customers and a parent company in the UK. When export becomes really complicated, I see only benefits for our company. Consequences in the long term, if the EU maintains the sanctions on Russia, could be that the UK is allowed to export. We cultivate some produce in the UK ourselves, and that could even give us some opportunities.
Marcel van Bruggen, Manager Transport ABC Logistics:
To me, this result came as a surprise. I did not expect it, and kept hoping that there would be no Brexit. We, as ABC Logistics, are specialised in transporting from the Continent to the British Isles and we will definitely feel the consequences. I expect a decrease of volumes initially. Trade will halt for a bit at first, but will then find its way again. But it will take some time, and during that time we will miss an important country. It is very important to us right now that the EU quickly reaches an agreement, and that upon leaving, a decent free trade agreement is realised quickly to avoid a fuss at the border.
Yves de Vinck, CEO Digocel/Begro/Westfro
The Brexit was a complete surprise to us, since the polls showed something different last week. Not just to us, but to the entire deepfreeze sector, the UK is an important market. The value of the pound could naturally hurt us as exporting companies, which could slow down our export in general with all known consequences. However, right now we should not be doom-mongering, because we do not sell financial products but food, which the British cannot stop using suddenly. We should therefore rely on the quality of our vegetables and the trust our buyers have in us. In any case, I think it will only become clear in the following months what the impact will be. In the long term the situation might look different, because the question is how strong Europe is.
Line van Hoecke, manager PS Europe:
Did we expect this? We heard the opinion of many of our contacts in recent weeks, and these were also equally divided. We now have to wait and see which exit formula will be decided on by the EU and the UK. We do not think much will change in the short term regarding trade, but we will have to await how the import and export of fresh fruits and vegetables will be regulated after the actual exit. What is certain is that the UK will keep needing products from the EU. PS Europe will naturally take up the challenge to continu serving our customers, and to deliver our service unchanged!
Jurgen Duthoo, salesperson Bart’s Potato Company:
We as a company already had the Brexit in mind several months ago, so we took some precautions, such as only billing customers in the UK in euros. With this result of the referendum it does not seem wise to accept pounds, at least not in the short term. For the future we will have to await which trade treaties will arise between the EU and the UK, and what impact this will have on the potato trade between both blocs.
Arthur van Dijk, TLN:
After choosing a Brexit, governments need to start the conversation as soon as possible to limit potential negative consequences for trade and transport. I call for Great Britain to make arrangements with the EU as soon as possible, to remove the uncertainty as much and as quickly as possible for companies and consumers. Considering the political developments in European countries, I also see this as a clear signal to politicians in all member states. Europe needs to become from and for its citizens again. We cannot survive without a well-functioning European Union. After a Brexit, the UK will have to negotiate about trade agreements with the EU and a large number of individual countries. Regardless of the time and energy this will require, this process increases the uncertainty for companies. Moreover, the question is what a Brexit means to the stability of Europe.