JERSEY’S most significant exporter of goods – the Island’s farmers, who each year ship tens of thousands of tonnes of Royals to the UK – have said that increases to ferry-related charges should have been limited to inflation this year.
The Jersey Farmers Union said that Ports of Jersey-levied harbour dues – which are being passed on by DFDS to customers from next month – mean that hauliers are increasing their rates by more than 7.5% “as a result of these additional charges that were unexpected.”
JFU president Dougie Richardson said that the extra charge, which has been added because DFDS were unaware that previous operator Condor was absorbing the ‘per unit’ charge applied by Ports, had been a ‘fiasco’.
Mr Richardson made his comments in a submission to the Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel, which is looking into the details of the government’s ‘concession agreement with ferry operator DFDS, signed in late 2024.
As the JEP recently reported, at least one retailer will be putting up its prices at the shelves from next month to take account of this extra charge.
DFDS say that the passing on of this charge is a ‘one-off correction’ following the operator’s decision to absorb it last year, once it had discovered over the summer – after Ports had sent it an unexpected invoice – that Condor had been swallowing it.
The government say that it is a price worth paying for having a sustainable and investable ferry service over the next 20 years. Under its agreement with DFDS, the operator has pledged to invest 297.5m euros in three new vessels by the end of 2031.
In the JFU’s submission, Mr Richardson wrote: “Unfortunately, before the concession was awarded, no consultation with stakeholders took place leading to unnecessary misunderstandings and a number of immediate course corrections being necessary.
“However, once awarded and schedules were released, the necessary urgent changes identified by us and others through dialogue both with government and DFDS quickly delivered a revised schedule that fitted our needs for exporting Jersey Royals during the season.”
He added that his industry’s exports to Guernsey have been adversely affected by the new agreement, with only one inter-island sailing per week, not provided by DFDS. Alternative extra sailings via Portsmouth had been discontinued, he said.
“I will be seeking urgent discussions with the minister to see anything can be done to resolve this, as well as pleading for services to Guernsey to get back to something much nearer to the service we used to enjoy,” Mr Richardson said.
Also making a submission to Scrutiny, Jersey Dairy managing director Eamon Fenlon called on the government to provide funds to cover the increase, if the oversight had been its fault.
He said: “If the mistake in not covering the trailer port charges is that of government, because they missed this in the negotiation of the tender, then I would suggest that government should have a responsibility of providing subsidies to cover that.”
M&S franchise holder SandpiperCI, which has already said that the extra charge would have to be passed on to customers, has also made a submission.
In it, it said is was “patently clear that the ferry service is not aligned in any way with the needs of business, residents or visitors”, adding that DFDS’s flat-rate freight fee was “in effect, a tax on food.”
Once the ‘evidence gathering’ phase of the scrutiny review ends, the panel will made recommendations to the Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel.
