University of aberdeen, Public university in Aberdeen, Scotland

Edinburgh, Jan 15 Scottish seafood companies only have "weeks" to survive without action to ease European Union (EU) export delays, an industry leader has warned.An "overwhelming amount" of paperwork and bureaucracy since the start of the new year has left seafood exporters struggling to get to grips with new systems, Xinhua news agency quoted Donna Fordyce, chief executive of Seafood Scotland, as saying to Sky News on Thursday."We've dealt with COVID since March, the border delays at Christmas the whole sector is on its knees and the resilience has gone," she said.Fordyce said there was no shortage of demand for Scottish seafood from across Europe, with the French market "desperate for our product".She called for "breathing space" and a grace period during which the new system can be improved."The companies haven't got months and months to survive, we're talking weeks," she added.In response, UK Environment Secretary George Eustice described the issue as "teething problems", saying goods will flow normally once businesses come to terms with the paperwork."They are only teething problems, once people get used to using the paperwork goods will flow normally," Eustice told MPs in the House of Commons (lower house of parliament) on Thursday."Of course, it would have been open to the EU to offer us a grace period just as we have done had a grace period for their goods coming to us."The EU and the UK announced on December 24, 2020 that they had reached an agreement that would govern their trade and security relationship starting from January 1, 2021, at the end of the Brexit transition period.The deal, which came after nine months of arduous negotiations, is the biggest bilateral trade deal signed by either side, covering trade worth around 668 billion pounds ($906 billion).The EU is the UK's largest trading partner, while the country is the bloc's third largest trading partner in goods.( With inputs from IANS )Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

University Of AberdeenFOLLOW

University of aberdeen, Latest News

'Game of Thrones' sweethearts turned off-screen married couple Kit Harington and Rose Leslie are officially now parents, after welcoming their first child together. ...

Bollywood star Sonam Kapoor on Saturday concluded the shooting for her upcoming crime-thriller 'Blind' in Scotland. ...

Bollywood star Sonam Kapoor on Saturday concluded the shooting for her upcoming crime-thriller 'Blind' in Scotland. ...

Support for Scottish independence took a slight hit, but the majority of Scottish people still think Scotland should break with the United Kingdom and become an independent country, according to an online survey published by the Scotsman newspaper on ...

London, Feb 6 In France, where vaccine skepticism, in general, is high, nearly one in three working-age adults ... ...

Pharmaceutical firm Valneva has begun manufacturing its candidate vaccine against COVID-19 at a site in Scotland, the UK government said on Thursday. ...

Scotland bowler Josh Davey has agreed on a one-year contract extension which will see him remain with England's County Cricket Club Somerset until at least the end of the 2023 campaign. ...

Edinburgh, Jan 15 Scottish seafood companies only have "weeks" to survive without action to ease European Union (EU) ... ...