The first successful export from the UK to the Netherlands after Brexit.

After a week of Brexit confusion, the anglo-dutch company Davis Worldwide, a year round importer and exporter of cherries, stone fruit, citrus, kiwi, and other fruits, has accomplished their first export shipment from the UK to the Netherlands.

Mark Wright, the Senior Commercial Manager of Davis Worldwide, comments: “Our first shipment to the Netherlands from the UK after Brexit has not been an easy one, and that is likely the biggest understatement of 2021 so far! There is a lot of "red tape" to navigate our way through and a lot of understanding and clarity of what is now needed.”

The delays which accrued in the supply chain were caused by lack of organization of the entire process after Brexit. Still there is not much clarity between different countries in recognising the correct documentation or having a simplified procedure for clearing an imported product. 

Despite being able to import a product to the country, first a company has to provide copies of most of the original documents to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), to allow for a new Phyto Certificate for export to be issued.

Mr. Wright explains: “It was not enough to supply the Phyto Certificate to the Dutch authorities. In the Netherlands we experienced shipments being held by the authorities, and copies of all of the original import documentation had to be also submitted to the Dutch authorities for further checks, along with making sure there was a cross reference to this on the newly created Phyto

Mr. Wright commented that they have encountered similar challenges with Irish clearing agents and hauliers when exporting to Ireland: 

“It has been noticed that a vast amount of groupage transport has now been cancelled in the past week into Ireland from the UK, with many Irish hauliers now only taking on full load bookings due to businesses who thought they were ready for the transition. In terms of the import, clearing of the product and the handling of groupage loads encountered too many problems which meant that the inevitable happened. The system came to a halt last week, and created a large backlog of consignments being delayed. This really should not be happening in the industry we are in, it can be damaging to businesses if added delays are incurred to their products in transit, both from a commercial and quality point of view.”

Mark added that now they are more knowledgeable of the process of what is the right way of importing and exporting outside of the UK, and that they are in a stable position with the right partners to import fresh produce safely to Europe and export outside of the UK.

“Having already been approached by other UK and Irish businesses to export their product outside of the UK and aid with the Import into those areas, I believe this is already a real achievement for Davis Worldwide and we look forward to complimenting their business models”, concluded Mark Wright.