British border open again, but traffic jams are not over yet

The border between England and France has reopened to freight traffic. Due to the discovery of a mutated version of the corona virus, it was no longer possible to travel in and out of England since Sunday evening. An exception has now been made for freight traffic, but logistics will probably be disrupted for days to come. A shortage of fresh produce threatens in the UK. 

Industry association Transport and Logistics Netherlands (TLN) says it is relieved that transport is starting again, after France and the United Kingdom reached a deal on Tuesday evening that makes transport via ferries and the canal possible again. The condition is that drivers can demonstrate a negative corona test that was taken no more than 72 hours before the crossing. The UK will facilitate these rapid tests.

4.000 drivers are stuck
TLN estimates that there are still at least 4.000 trucks that want to go to the European mainland from the UK. The UK has therefore taken steps to accommodate drivers over Christmas, as the logistics are likely to take a few more days to get up and running.  

The Netherlands had announced a flight ban and mooring ban on Sunday evening until the new year. Freight transport with goods via ferries was allowed to continue in recent days, because otherwise the logistics would be disrupted too much.

However, many Dutch transports go via France to the UK, according to a TLN spokesperson, this is about half of all transports. TLN is concerned about the drivers who are allegedly detained in poor conditions, regarding food and sanitation. Some of them will probably be back before Christmas, but probably not all, the spokesperson said. 

Shortage of fresh products
In recent days there has been much speculation about possible food shortages in the UK, as thousands of trucks make the crossing every day to supply British shops and supermarkets with meat and vegetables, among other things. In the UK, the main warnings are now about shortages of fresh products such as fruit and vegetables.

There is probably enough of non-fresh products in stock to last into the new year. In the run-up to the (hard) Brexit, many companies in the UK have pre-sorted for logistical problems and large stocks have thus been built up.

Wouter Job

Wouter Baan is editor-in-chief of Boerenbusiness. He also focuses on dairy, pig and meat markets. He also follows (business) developments within agribusiness and interviews CEOs and policymakers.

w.baan@boerenbusiness. Nl

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