NI firm sourcing ‘cheaper’ tins of tuna from Mauritius after Brexit… but wrong ticked box leads to ninth month wait

Tuna from Mauritius sourced as an alternative to Great Britain following Brexit took nine months to reach its Northern Ireland customer after a paperwork mistake, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal. Henderson Foodservice said it turned to Mauritius as a source because getting tinned tuna from Great Britain was no longer commercially viable under post-Brexit arrangements. But managing director Cathal Geoghegan, who’s also the recently appointed president of the NI Chamber of Commerce, said an order made in September last year was not successfully delivered until June. Normally, deliveries from Mauritius would take two to three months, compared to two or three weeks for orders coming from Liverpool.

He explained that the tins of tuna were initially turned away at Belfast Harbour because an administrator in Mauritius had ticked the destination box marked ‘Great Britain’ instead of ‘UK’. “The key driver here was from a commercial perspective, as taking the tuna in from the previous Great Britain supply chain/route would have resulted in an additional tariff payable of some 24%, which we would have had to unfortunately pass onto our customer base. "Therefore our decision was focused on ensuring a competitive product price for our customer base.” The tuna from Mauritius was finally delivered in June. “That’s a live example of the bureaucracy of Brexit problems,” said Mr Geoghegan. The business had been forced to find emergency sources of tuna at an inflated cost as a result of the error, he said. But Mr Geoghegan said he hoped the Windsor Framework could solve some of the problems of trading between Great Britain and NI since Brexit.

However, he stressed it would not cure every ill, adding: “Business needs to be part of the solutions and discussion with UK and EU government, and that's where the Chamber comes into its own.” Checks on fishery products entering ports are completed by district councils under the authority of the Food Standards Agency (FSA). The FSA confirmed that Henderson Foodservice's shipment had been stopped. It said: “Consignments of products of animal origin, such as canned tuna, in line with official controls legislation governing imports, must be accompanied by an appropriate export health certificate certifying the product meets public health rules applicable within the country of import. “In this instance, the certifying officer in the country of export completed an incorrect certificate and so it could not lawfully enter Northern Ireland on first arrival. "It is important for traders to ensure consignments are accompanied by the correct certificate for the country of import to avoid such issues arising.”

Mr Geoghegan spoke to the Belfast Telegraph as a House of Lords committee concluded that the Windsor Framework had improved upon the NI Protocol but that problems remain. Peers’ report on the economic, political, legal and constitutional impact of the deal found the framework's benefits included the eased movement of retail goods; agri-food produce, including chilled meats; parcels; pets; and human medicines via the green lane. Goods being sent from Great Britain can stay in the green lane if they are not being sent on to the Republic, while those at risk of being sent over the border will be placed in a red lane, which will be subject to more checks. Peers cautioned that for some businesses the processes under the framework will be more burdensome than under the protocol as it is currently being implemented. That is because the protocol, as it stands, is still being operated inside grace periods and with exemptions.

Mr Geoghegan confirmed that the new ‘green and red lane’ arrangement meant different rules for different parts of the Henderson Group, which owns Henderson Foodservice. “We operate north and south of the border, whereas my sister business, Henderson Wholesale, which operates the Spar franchise in the north of Ireland, solely operates north of the border. “All goods Henderson Wholesale takes through from Great Britain can come through the green channel. “But unfortunately all the goods that we take through from UK into NI for Henderson Foodservice will have to come through the red channel, because there is a risk that they will be sold in the Republic.” And the framework does not alter the application of tariffs needed to bring items such as tuna from Great Britain in future, he said. Former DUP MP Lord Dodds said the House of Lords report highlighted problems which made the framework even more burdensome than the protocol. “One key conclusion is that the Windsor Framework makes things worse for many businesses compared to what they have experienced up to now,” he said. “The original protocol was unworkable and could not be implemented without major damage to our economy. That led to grace periods and easements. "Now these are to be done away with and replaced with the more onerous and burdensome Windsor Framework provisions.”