UK salmon farmers want priority as French border reopens

Scottish salmon farmers urged the U.K. and France to prioritize moving seafood across the newly reopened border to salvage the busiest time of year for cross-Channel sales.

Salmon is Britain’s top food export and producers have lost millions of pounds since France cut off shipments from the U.K. on Sunday, the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation said. The government has plans to prioritize perishable seafood trade once the Brexit transition period ends on Jan. 1, and the SSPO wants that brought forward to help produce get to France before losing value.

The group warned it will be “some considerable time” before operations return to normal given the huge backlog of lorries in the U.K.

Fruit and Vegetables

For fruit and vegetables, there’s less risk that trucks stuck at the border will be holding supplies past their shelf life. Most of the lorries from produce companies held up in the queues are empty after unloading at British supermarkets, Philippe Binard, general delegate of European association Freshfel, said Wednesday on Bloomberg Radio.

“I don’t think there are any rotten fruit for the moment,” Binard said, adding that the U.K. gets about 40% of its fruit and vegetables from Europe. “There will be some shortages just before Christmas and most probably in the post-Christmas season. There are a number of orders that have been canceled.”