Brits Fear Rising Import Prices: – People Hoard – E24

Before the country leaves the EU, growing unrest over rising import prices has caused long queues on both sides of the British Channel, writes Bloomberg.

The French port of Calais is particularly hard hit, as the port is a major hub for the delivery of goods to the UK.

Port director Jean-Marc Puissesseau tells the newspaper that he watches everything from tractors to various luxury sports cars crossing the canal.

This includes expensive sports cars from Ferrari and Maserati.

“We see all kinds of things that point to the accumulation of people, in case customs duties are imposed,” Puissesseau said. Bloomberg.

British importers have long warned of major changes in foreign trade due to Brexit. In October, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that Britain should prepare for a trade deal with the EU on par with Australia.

Such an agreement means that the UK will trade with the EU under the terms of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This will lead to an increase in rates and probably considerable price increases.

Container price goes up

At British Dover, the UK’s busiest ferry port, the number of deliveries in November has increased by 20 percent compared to last year.

The large increase in imports has led to a jump in the price of the container, to 6,000 pounds, from 2,500 just a few weeks ago, writes Bloomberg.

At the port of Felixstove, they have also had to call in extra staff to handle the large quantities of deliveries to the country.

– The port has been struggling with productivity issues for a while. On top of this, there is congestion at other major ports as the Brexit deadline approaches and companies are hogging, says director Duncan Buchanan, who represents British truckers, under the Road Haulage Association.

In addition, it says that it expects to increase congestion through 2021.

Steps have also been taken to avoid long lines at the French port of Calais.

British companies take over

On Wednesday, French authorities had to pull some 800 trucks off the A16 motorway and take them to other stations to avoid traffic in Calais.

The French port is reporting the heaviest traffic so far this year, even at a time when daily deliveries have dropped due to the pandemic.

Japanese automaker Honda has temporarily halted all production in England.

This is due to significant delays in auto parts deliveries in the country, according to the automaker. In addition, the UK’s largest grocery producer Tesco has taken steps to avoid delays at the busy Dover ferry port.

The president of the supermarket giant, John Allan, tells Bloomberg that, among other things, they began to store food and send deliveries to other areas to avoid Dover.