Quite often, British media devote articles to authentic Greek yogurt and how the British consumer will not be confused by the so-called ‘Greek style yoghurt’, which is found in abundance on British supermarket shelves.

This is a typical example of the preference they show, but this much-loved product is at risk, as from today it has already entered the list of controls and brexit bureaucracy.

Specifically, from midnight on Tuesday, imports of fresh products, such as dairy, meat, and even flowers from the EU, go through physical checks. This is the second phase of tougher border controls to be implemented after the UK leaves the European Union and the deal they signed. The first stage had only been implemented in January and concerned the mandatory payment of health certificates for European fresh products.

Delay in implementation and lack of transparency in procedures

The start of the measure was confirmed today by the British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The implementation of what was agreed took a little more than three years, that is, when the brexit regime was officially implemented.

The start of the physical checks had even been postponed several times, as according to the statements there was a lack of infrastructure and personnel. It should be pointed out that the Republic of Ireland will be an exception to this new measure. As the British government has made clear, the control on Irish products will not be implemented until at least November, even though Ireland is a member of the EU and is also one of the most important suppliers of food to Great Britain.

As stated, physical controls will be categorized into three stages: those of high risk, moderate risk and low. The Ministry has not clarified exactly what this means in its application and industry experts are calling for more detail and transparency in the statements.

Reactions and high costs for businesses and consumers

But the reactions are not limited there. The domino effects of such red tape, experts warn, are certain. Longer delivery times and higher costs will almost automatically pass on to British consumers.

Significantly, it is estimated that the cost will “burden” more at up to £145 per load on importers, which is called a “shared user charge”. According to Allianz Trade’s calculations, this new regime will raise the cost of imports by up to 10% in the first year, which of course will act as another branch of inflationary pressures.

The government, although it agrees with this, calculates that this pressure will be only 0.2%, three years in depth. As he said, “the new model improves our biosecurity and the cost is negligible compared to a large outbreak of disease from plants or animals.” On the same wavelength and the president of the Farmers Union Tom Bradshaw, who welcomed this new measure “as a way of preserving the nation’s food.”

Of course, as meat, dairy products, plants and seeds enter this new physical controls regime, smaller businesses are expected to be at greater risk due to the high costs. As for Greece now, the numbers are typical. According to figures from the British Department of Trade, dairy products along with eggs are in the number 5 position of the top products imported from Greece, with a total value of 118 million pounds, while fruit is one place above, bringing in 155 million pounds.