THE government should scrap ‘unnecessary’ trade barriers to encourage producers to export more of their goods, representatives of sectors key to the Island’s economy have said.
A new Export Strategy, launched by Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel, has been welcomed by businesses, but firms have also highlighted issues with harbour dues and red tape that they say are currently limiting their ability to be competitive.
The strategy sets out a series of actions to help businesses grow their export activities, including the establishment of an export support service with Jersey Business, help for producers to sell goods at the ports and strengthening links with France.
Jersey Dairy managing director Eamon Fenlon welcomed the strategy, but said there was another straightforward step which the government could take to make exporting far more attractive.
‘We currently have to pay harbour dues in Jersey – they are £10.60 a tonne and we don’t have to pay them anywhere else, including when we’re shipping goods from Southampton to Hong Kong,’ he said.
‘We don’t pay dues in Portsmouth in either direction, so government could make a positive impact tomorrow by scrapping this unnecessary charge.’
Mr Fenlon added that Jersey Dairy had built its successful export business on its own initiative over several years, but that any help from government would be appreciated.
The strategy highlights the steep growth achieved, with exports of soft ice cream increasing from 36,000 litres in 2011 to almost three million litres a decade later.
The export market’s share of Jersey Dairy’s total revenue had risen from 5% to more than 30% over the same period, it is noted.
Jersey Farmers Union president Peter Le Maistre said: ‘Farmers in Jersey get far less support than those in the UK or Europe, so it’s very difficult to compete.
‘We survived in the past when the playing field was more level, with big volumes and lower wage rates, but that’s now reversed – we can still grow the crops but in some respects the situation is irreversible.’
Vegetables such as cauliflowers and courgettes were still exported in small volumes, he said, but other produce such as tomatoes was no longer exported on any significant scale.
An estimated 25,000 tonnes of Jersey Royals across the four-month summer season account for the vast majority of vegetable exports.
Many of the containers used to deliver freight to Jersey go back empty to the UK, Mr Le Maistre said.
‘It would be good to utilise these containers, but you can’t just fill them up – you get charged. We need to get better rates,’ he said.
‘Last time we mentioned this to government we were told that Ports of Jersey was a third party and could charge what they wanted for dues.’
Mr Le Maistre said one area where he hoped the situation could be improved was for farmers wanting to export to France and other parts of mainland Europe.
‘There’s a lot of paperwork, and at the moment some of the potatoes that go to Europe are being sent via the UK, because it’s easier,’ he said.
‘There have been some good discussions with Normandy, so if we could sort this out, potentially including a border post at Granville, that would help.’
Tim Ward, operations director of Albert Bartlett, one of the Island’s two biggest marketers of Jersey Royals, said: ‘It’s encouraging that the government has come up with an export strategy.
‘We are definitely working more closely [with government]. I’ve been in the industry for over 30 years and have seen an increasing gap between government and agriculture, so it’s good to be turning the tide in that regard.’
Mr Ward said he hoped the government would focus on specific areas that created challenges for the industry.
‘Recruiting labour is a challenge and we come across red tape around tax and social security that we hope could be simplified,’ he said. ‘And it is expensive to bring in products that we need and to export Royals, so that can put us at a disadvantage.’
