Speaking to Islanders and business leaders yesterday at a States event entitled ‘Ready for Brexit’, Senator Gorst said that, while the Island would not run out of food following Brexit, the fresh-food supply to Islanders would be interrupted for up to six months.
He said that, based on the assumption that the UK would leave the EU with no deal, he and his ministerial colleagues were working with port officials on the south coast of England to see what that scenario would ‘actually look like’.
‘It surely cannot be that no goods will get through to us,’ he said.
‘It is just that there might be some delays throughout that summer period, which could be three to six months. Will everything remain exactly as it is today for Islanders and for the supply chain? It can’t do. There will be some interruption.
‘The best plans in the world for a no-deal scenario will include some interruption. Does that mean we are going to run out of food? No, of course it doesn’t.
‘But what it might mean is that we will not have every single
line of fresh food that we enjoy today. I think we have to admit that, yes, there will be [supply interruptions] but we are putting plans in place to mitigate that as far as possible.’
When asked if the government was considering the provision of extra warehousing and storage facilities in the Island, as well as securing supply chains, Senator Gorst said: ‘We are making sure we are prepared for both eventualities.’
However, the chief executive of the Jersey Chamber of Commerce, Murray Norton, said that supply chains and transport links were his members’ ‘most important concern’.
‘It is the one thing we want to ensure we get right,’ he said. ‘Senator Gorst said that if there is to be any disruption, it will probably be to fresh foods, and I think that is something we need to make sure that we get right.’
He added, ‘We know that government has been and looked at Portsmouth harbour. The assurance we have had is that Portsmouth has capacity.’
