NEWSTORN political reporter, Essex
NEWSTORN5 years on for the reason that UK formally left the EU and, thus far, Brexit has not been as unhealthy as oysterman Tom Haward thought.
A 12 months earlier than January 31 2020, his enterprise – Richard Haward’s Oysters – determined to cease sending 200,000 oysters a 12 months to the likes of Belgium and France.
As a substitute, they’ve been served-up at extra eating places, fishmongers and markets throughout Britain.
“Brexit did not actually affect us in any respect within the quick time period.
“We anticipated it will trigger quite a lot of issues with exporting, so we stopped earlier than Brexit occurred after which crammed that hole with home shoppers.”
Tom Haward’s household have grown and caught oysters round Mersea Island in Essex for almost 300 years. He hopes his daughter will sooner or later grow to be the ninth technology to make her residing from the shellfish.
Firstly of this decade, elevated demand within the UK ate up the ten% of his oysters that have been being exported to continental Europe.
“We have been seeing a renaissance of affection of oysters within the UK.
“We have been seeing a rise in gross sales to eating places, so we have been like ‘Oh, Brexit hasn’t been as unhealthy as we thought it was going to be’.
“However that was the start. Now we’re beginning to see, 5 years on, the implications of Brexit,” Mr Haward advised the NEWSTORN.
The hospitality sector was “struggling” and the oysterman stated his clients weren’t promoting the identical volumes of oysters prior to now 12 months.
“We have a really small market that we are attempting to maintain maintain of and there is not likely a lot progress within the UK.
“There are such a lot of different oyster producers preventing for a similar clients. I can already see a downward for gross sales in oysters.”
There have been now “too many boundaries, too many issues” to promoting British oysters in mainland Europe, Mr Haward stated.
To export dwell shellfish into the EU, export well being certificates, origin of product paperwork and veterinary well being checks wanted to be accomplished.
Mr Haward stated the paperwork and planning would take per week, whereas earlier than Brexit an order from the EU might be made and the oysters would arrive the next day.
The forms, he stated, had “pushed the value up by at the very least 20%” and he would “must cost much more than our European rivals”.
There was additionally a threat dwell oysters can be delayed in transit and would “die on the border”.
‘Dubai simpler than Dublin’
Tom Haward stated he had discovered a brand new consumer in Dubai, which was simpler to export to than Dublin.
“It is very easy: I write out an bill, field the oysters up, ship them to Heathrow and it is job finished.
“It is all finished the way in which we used to do it with Europe.
“It is simpler to get them into the Center East than throughout the English Channel, that is the insanity of it. It makes me unhappy.”
Earlier than the Brexit vote, Richard Haward’s Oysters was seeking to double its EU exports to twenty% of gross sales. Now exports overseas make-up 0.5%.
The UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves has talked of a reset of relations with the EU and bettering market entry for meals and farm items.
However Tom Haward was pessimistic.
“There’s quite a lot of speak and little motion no matter which authorities is in place,” he stated.
He was contemplating sending oysters to the Far East – demand is excessive in China.
However he was torn over whether or not it was sustainable to fly oysters “half-way around the globe” and maintain his household harvesting oysters.
