The number of exports from UK ports to the EU dropped by 68 per cent in January compared to the previous year, according to research by The Road Haulage Association (RHA.)

The RHA urged cabinet office minister Michael Gove to work with the industry to identify how it can “resolve the customs intermediary shortage to adequately handle EU trade.”

In a letter written to Gove, the association said that new guidance UK and Irish officials issued last week to help ease pressure on ‘groupage’ movements is “unclear” and “not fit for purpose.”

“The new model has not been stress-tested and does not consider the impact on suppliers having to develop bespoke processes within their own businesses,” said RHA chief executive Richard Burnett. “It also fails to address the complexity and overly bureaucratic requirements designed for external trade and not internal within the UK. It does not recognise the shortage of vets.”

He also called for the cabinet minister to host an immediate roundtable with Northern Irish hauliers to find a workable solution and provide financial support for those who’ve suffered significant losses as a result.

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