Dutch companies doing business in the UK are still suffering heavily from Brexit on a daily basis, especially as the UK is lagging behind with digitization. That’s what the British Dutch Chamber of Commerce told BNR. Add to that inflation, the energy crisis and turmoil in British politics, and the conclusion is that doing business in the UK is no easy feat nowadays.

‘The general business climate has deteriorated greatly in recent times,’ said Anton Valk, chairman of the British-Dutch Chamber of Commerce. “So it’s even harder to do business with England than it was a year ago.”

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According to Valk, the first factor that makes doing business with the UK more difficult is the border with the EU. ‘Border means formality. And not only are there physical restrictions, but there are also restrictions on posting people to the UK. Something is being done about this, among other things through digitization. Much has been done about this, especially on the Dutch side, let alone on the British side.’

Dental disease

Two of the biggest problems for Dutch companies today are high inflation and the search for people. ‘Everyone is struggling with these issues but they are not making it easier to do business with England,’ said Valk. It cannot be concluded from the membership of the British-Dutch Chamber of Commerce that Dutch entrepreneurs gave up and looked for other markets.

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Valk hopes doing business in the UK will become easier once things like the coronavirus, high inflation and the hassles surrounding Boris Johnson’s succession have been resolved. “I’ve never been too concerned about the growing Brexit issue. It’s about the long term. It’s not easy for your supply chain, it’s not easy to find people and it’s not easy to do business in general. In the background are the issues surrounding the Northern Ireland protocol and the unstable political situation in Northern Ireland. It doesn’t provide certainty in doing business, and that’s what you want as an entrepreneur.’

Hassle

At the vegetables and fruit sector club GroentenFruit Huis they observed the same problem. Over the years we were able to trade with the UK with ease. It used to be part of the European Union, but that’s no longer of course,’ says Janine Luten, general manager of GroentenFruit Huis. “A huge paperwork has come upon them.”

There are several things experienced by fruit and vegetable traders. From January 1, there will also be quality checks, and that has caused initial problems on the British side. As a result, the trucks were delayed, unable to continue their journey. It gave some teething problems, but has since been resolved. I myself feel that there is now a realization on the British side that digitization must be accelerated, but that hasn’t happened yet.’

Challenge

Under member GroentenFruit Huis, Luten has not seen any exporters moving to other markets. “Of course those thoughts will be there, and trade always finds its way, but it often has to do with relationships over the years. So exporters will not be held back by this challenge.’

To rectify the situation, according to Luten, it is important that the phyto-certification, which proves that the shipment meets health requirements, be postponed and eventually abolished. Another positive progress is that we have done a good project with the port of Rotterdam, which makes it easier for us to share data with each other. So that’s positive, but trade may be facilitated again towards the UK.’

said Janine Luten, general manager of the vegetable and fruit sector club GroentenFruit Huis.

1. One exporter affiliated with GroentenFruit Huis said: I feel that we have been thrown back a century by Brexit. Is it really that bad?

[…

Rode draad van alle verhalen die je hoort: De enorme papiermolen die erbij is komen kijken. Al die documenten die gevraagd worden. Vraagt heel veel van organisaties: kennis, energie en tijd. Mijns inziens helemaal niet nodig, want deden we hiervoor ook niet. Er is echt een extra barrière opgeworpen. Het VK is echt een derde land geworden.]

2. One of the things that caused a lot of problems was automation on the British side. What do fruit and vegetable exporters notice about this?

[Er gaan enorme hoeveelheden die kant op. En hoe meer export, hoe groter de rompslomp. Dat alles veel lastiger is geworden geeft ook veel meer emoties met zich mee. Zagen ook wel dat Engelsen worstelden om het geregeld te krijgen. Ze lopen qua automatisering ver achter in vergelijking in Europa. Ze komen van ver, maar hoor ook in het veld dat de Britten erboven op zitten. Maar eerst zien dan geloven.

Waar we ook tegenaan lopen is dat alles veel duurder geworden. Container, energie, gas, diesel. Kosten om te exporteren veel hoger geworden. Maar documentengedoe is wel echt de hoofdmoot]

3. Will the delivery also have problems?

[Dat niet, gelukkig. Maar moeten er wel hard aan trekken met elkaar. Opvallend is dat door Brexit Europa OOK een obstakel geworden. Want groente en fruit dat hiervoor bijvoorbeeld van Marokko via Europa naar het Verenigd Koninkrijk ging, gaat nu gewoon rechtstreeks die kant op. Productstromen die altijd via Nederland gingen, gaan nu om Nederland heen.]

4. What has improved since Brexit?

[Ophoping aan grens en files zien we niet meer. Alleen begin januari toen kwaliteitscontrole werd ingevoerd. Hebben Engelsen wel snel opgelost, dat moet ik ze nageven. Hele grote problemen zien we niet meer.]

5. So much remains to be done. What sound do you hear in this sector? How do fruit and vegetable exporters like to see things organized?

[Man die ik sprak zei: ik pleit voor een vrijhandelszone. We hebben altijd zonder problemen handel gedreven zonder elkaar. Het VK is en blijft een heel belangrijke handelspartner. Maar handel voeren is alleen maar complexer geworden.]

6. And how do you think it should be resolved?

[Vereenvoudiging van de regels. Er is een sterke lobby op gang die daarvoor pleit. Hopelijk heeft dat snel effect]

Thank you! Janine Luten, general manager of GroentenFruit Huis