"Brexit" border controls on food imports to the UK are now being applied, reports CNN, a consequence of it leaving the European Union. Expect food prices to rise further, Britons.
According to the UK government's own estimates, the checks — including physical inspections from April — will cost Britishbusinesses about £330 million ($419 million) annually and increase food inflation by about 0.2 percentage points over three years. Some industry experts are warning of a greater impact on inflation.
The new controls mark the first time EU food producers must face the hassle of post-Brexit border bureaucracy since Britain exited the bloc's vast internal market and customs union in January 2021. The country quit the EU a year earlier, in January 2020, following a divisive referendum in 2016.
The British government delayed the imposition of these controls for five years to delay the pain. Europe accounts for a quarter of the food eaten in the UK. The good Brexit news is that Britain is now fully self-sufficient in turnips.
Previously: Brexit means the UK will shelve the EU Copyright Directive (for now)
