JERSEY’S supermarkets are not expecting any major disruption to food supplies in the new year despite the introduction of stricter import controls in the UK.
From 1 January, importers will need to make a full declaration when bringing goods into the country and will no longer be allowed to delay submitting paperwork for up to 175 days – an option that was introduced to ease the post-Brexit transition.
The issue has prompted concerns that food suppliers may not be ready for the new regime.
Both the Channel Islands Co-operative Society and SandpiperCI, which runs the Marks & Spencer and Iceland franchises, said that they have been working with suppliers to avoid any disruption.
Mark Crean, the Co-op’s chief retail officer, said that they had received confirmation from UK suppliers that they were prepared for the new regime.
He said: ‘We have been working hard with our supply chain partners in the UK for a long time to ensure that we are prepared for the tighter post-Brexit import rules. All of our suppliers have confirmed that they are prepared for the changes and we are not expecting any significant levels of disruption in the New Year.’
And a spokesman for SandpiperCI said that they were also confident that their shelves would remain well-stocked.
‘We are not expecting any shortages of food as result of the new import rules being introduced by the UK on 1 January,’ he said.
