After weeks of leaks, it came as no surprise that the UK government has delayed the introduction of full border controls now for a fifth time.
This means that veterinary certification will now be required. It is a somewhat ironic position, given that the strapline for Brexit was about taking back control, yet this most practical outworking of control is still outstanding.
The extended delay is due to a combination of infrastructure still not being completely ready and a government desire not to add further bureaucracy and costs at this time of high food prices.
It is also ironic that the EU, which didn’t want Brexit, was ready from day one, when full border controls were imposed on UK exporters to the EU.
UK food exporting businesses have adapted by this stage to compliance with the certification process, but it comes at a cost. This is a cost that has so far been avoided by exporters to the UK, but the reality is that it will come.
They are currently scheduled to begin on 31 January for certification, with physical checks due to start in April and full controls in place by October 2024.
Brexit benefit
UK farmers will actually have a Brexit benefit shortly as the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) - the levy promotion board - will again use 'British' in an upcoming pork promotion campaign and this will also feature in subsequent beef and lamb promotion campaigns.
Use of 'British' and the UK flag was not permitted by EU state aid rules, but these no longer apply to the UK.
EU state aid rules prevent member states using levy money to promote on a national basis. Bord Bia cannot promote Irish beef - its campaigns have always cantered around the quality assurance mark. There is an exception for protected geographical indications (PGI) and there will be no issue promoting Irish grass-fed beef when that PGI is secured.
Will it work across the entire UK?
It will be interesting to see how the UK regions embrace the British branding of the promotion campaign.
It had been widely used prior to being banned by state aid rules and a memorably successful campaign was run in the aftermath of the BSE crisis in the late 1990s, which successfully restored beef consumption to pre-BSE levels.
Prior to EU state aid rules scuppering the British beef brand, devolution to Scotland and Wales under the first Labour Government in the late 1990s also dealt a blow.
Scotland and Wales both had regional levy bodies that promoted Scotch and Welsh beef and lamb.
Northern Ireland already had the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC), which manoeuvred between being British and Irish, as its unique position enabled it to do.
In practice, this meant embracing British for sales to the rest of the UK - England in particular - and being Irish when selling in mainland Europe prior to the BSE export ban.
There will be some diplomatic skills required to get the Scottish and Welsh levy boards to be supportive of a British-branded campaign on their turf.
Secondary benefit
Ironically, Irish beef sales would get a secondary benefit from any British-branded campaign that involved beef.
Irish beef is sold alongside British as an equal in the three largest supermarkets and the large burger chains.
With beef presented as British and Irish in these outlets, Irish beef will be promoted by default, assuming the retailers and burger chains embrace the AHDB campaign.
Many Irish beef producers could live with their product being promoted in this way, especially if it drove consumer demand to such an extent that it started to close the wide gap in farmgate beef values either side of the Irish Sea.
‘Not for EU’ appears on NI beef