British haulage firm Whites Transport Services has said it is “losing an absolute fortune” every day due to the confusion and delays at ports caused by the new UK-EU trading arrangements.
Pete White, The transport manager of Whites Transport Services, made the comments in an interview with Berkshire Live yesterday.
Whites Transport Services deliver fresh meat from the UK into the EU. Naturally, their cargo must clear customs quickly so that it arrives in an acceptable state. However, the customs delays are creating significant problems, as Pete White explains:
“Our problems start when we arrive in France. We have to wait for the French authorities to give the green light for us to continue our journey. Two trucks on Saturday spent 16 hours waiting for that to happen. We just don’t have time for these delays. Fresh meat carcasses devalue by the hour. I’ve been doing this for 20 years and last week was the worst week I’ve ever had doing this job.”
He then went on to say that his haulage firm is “losing an absolute fortune on a daily basis”.
White even added that he hoped empty supermarket shelves would generate enough public awareness of the problem to force the UK Government to act:
“France is not going to do the UK any favours. I can’t see a light at the end of the tunnel at the moment. It’s going to get much worse before it gets better. What I’m hoping for is the supermarkets to run out of food, because when the supermarkets run out of food that is when the general public know about what’s going on.”
Photo credit: Pkuczynski / Wikimedia Commons