Millions of pounds of Scottish seafood is stuck in the queues for Dover

Millions of pounds of Scottish seafood is stuck in the queues for Dover as firms warn their Christmas sales have been ‘ruined’ by the chaos of the last 48 hours which has seen France shut its border with the UK.

President Macron announced the travel ban on arrivals from the UK on Sunday night after the identification of a new Covid-19 strain in the south east of England. 

Huge numbers of lorries are now backed up in Kent, unable to make the crossing, leaving drivers spending a second night sleeping in their cabs. 

However, a deal was tonight struck between officials on either side of the Channel, meaning trucks can hit the road again in the morning. 

Nevertheless, the disruption has had a huge impact on business, with Scotland Food and Drink saying pre-Christmas sales had been ‘ruined’ for shellfish firms, with millions of pounds worth of produce among the stock in queues. 

Chief executive James Withers said: ‘Contrary to an upbeat assessment from the Prime Minister yesterday, the situation has been deteriorating with a growing backlog of lorries.

‘We understand the number of lorries currently parked up in the wrong place in the UK is now in the thousands.

‘There has been a very small amount of seafood that was caught in the backlog that has managed to switch to being unaccompanied freight and get to France.

‘But the vast bulk of the problem remains and is worsening. The UK Government should be holding a Cobra meeting again today and focusing all efforts on agreeing a protocol with the French authorities.

‘For some of our shellfish exporters, the pre-Christmas sales have now been ruined. It looks like mission impossible to get products to the big markets in Spain which are held tomorrow.

‘That is an irrecoverable loss of income and I fear about this being a fatal blow to some of the smaller businesses after the horrendous year they have already had.’

Scottish Government export figures released last week indicate France remains the single largest importer of Scottish food and drink products.

Exports to France for the first nine months of 2020 are already down 11.3% on the same period the previous year.

Mr Withers added: ‘The focus is rightly on seafood, as it is the most time-sensitive and threatened sector, but there are other Scottish food exporters and importers, from red meat to fresh veg, whose worries are significant and growing.

‘Based on discussions with the insurance industry we have had, we are not aware of any companies yet who will be able to claim for losses due to delays, despite some suggestions otherwise from UK Ministers yesterday.

‘Also, the options for alternative markets are minimal. The major supermarkets in the UK are well supplied for Christmas and the hospitality sector is facing another Covid lockdown.

‘Yesterday was marked by very little progress. We can’t afford for the same today.’

Businesses were granted something of a life line this evening when Transport Secretary Grant Shapps took to social media to confirm that a deal had been struck, which also means planes, boats and the Eurostar will all resume service tomorrow.

While it has not been formally confirmed which type of test has been agreed upon, reports suggest the deal included the use of the fast lateral flow tests, which can provide results within an hour.

Mr Macron had previously demanded the gold-standard PCR tests be used, which are more expensive, lab-based tests that can take up to 72 hours to process.

The lateral flow tests, which were the UK’s preference throughout negotiations, are considered less effective unless administered by a nurse and were even dubbed effectively useless earlier today.