Botanical supplies and Brexit
Britain will leave the EU on 29th March 2019, which is only seven months away!
Focusing on botanicals
We have been asked how a possible ‘no deal’ will affect botanical supplies within the UK. With so much we cannot control and little information on what Brexit is going to look like we thought it was important to focus on the things we can control.
Shipments and border crossings
It is likely that there will be major delays at the road border crossings between the UK and EU. This seems unavoidable. Currently we bring a few of our botanicals into the UK via road / truck but the majority of our shipments come by sea into Felixstowe Port which is 43 miles from our Warehouse in Halstead, Essex. We have provisions in place with our Forwarding Agents to move more botanicals by sea to try and avoid any possible delays.
With so many uncertainties surrounding Brexit we will feel safer having the botanicals already in the UK in our Warehouse. These botanicals will have cleared customs and port authorities. Other supplies coming in from the EU from the deadline date onwards will need clear these same authorities, inspections and will be subject to delay.
Harvest timings
The deadline of 29th March 2019 follows the next harvest of all the core botanicals except for Citrus. With this fortunate timing we aim to bring in and complete all purchases of our core botanicals before the deadline date with all goods to be cleared and in our UK Warehouse. The Citrus harvest in Spain will be the first test of post deadline day!
Increase stock levels
We are fortunate that our Warehouse offers excellent storage facilities for botanicals and we will be increasing our stock levels to hold between 12-18 months stock at any one time. We are well financed and have the ability to purchase large quantities of stock and expand our Warehouse space even further.
Other origins
In the past, we have mentioned our move to sourcing botanicals from other regions outside the EU. Our joint-venture in Egypt is as busy as ever producing all forms of Citrus peel. This is something we will continue with as non-EU countries monitor the Brexit situation carefully with the hope of identifying opportunities for trade. We are open for business over the entire globe and will therefore strive to find new origins.
We are currently talking to Brazil, China, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone for new opportunities.
Who knows what the UK will look like over the coming months, but it is vital for us to control what we can and do know. We are certain there will be a few surprises down the line!
If you have any questions, do please give us a call on 01273 844 264 or email
