I had a post on my Linkedin newsfeed this morning – shared by Nicki Holmyard – from Caroline Verwijs in the Netherlands, ‘another episode in the Brexit saga’. It’s about how European companies want our shellfish and UK companies want to export shellfish but the trade is falling apart because of phytosanitary measures that UK exporters need to comply with now they are outside the EU.
There are different classes of water quality and shellfish produce from class B waters needs to spend a period in depuration before it can be sold in EU countries. The depuration used to take place in the importing countries but now has to happen in UK before the shellfish can be exported into Europe and there is insufficient capacity. Is this a ‘teething problem’ as the government says or will it destroy the industry because it places too many barriers to allow sustainable trade?
This and other similar trade problems coming to the fore are the inevitable consequence of the UK withdrawing from the EU. We now have to comply with the rules set and agreed by us when we were EU members with the aim of protecting the single market. These favour EU production through imposition of tariffs and non-tariff barriers on imports. Why on earth would you want to withdraw from a club that you helped to set up in the first place? And at what cost? It truly is madness!
Contrast this with Africa where the AfCFTA, the African Continental Free Trade Area has just started operating. This presents a great opportunity to open up inter-African trade between rapidly developing economies such as Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa, moving away from dependence on intercontinental trade with Asia, Europe and America. I expect the Egyptian aquaculture industry to benefit from expanded sales of aquaculture feeds and sales of fish to several countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Interesting times ahead!