According to a new report by the London School of Economics, dairy products could become luxury items in the UK after Brexit.
The research has found that costs of everyday dairy products, such as yoghurt and cheese, could wildly escalate following Brexit due to the risk of shortages.
“Our dependence on imported dairy products means that disruption to the supply chain will have a big impact,” said Ash Amirahmadi, the UK managing director of Arla Foods which commissioned the research.
“Most likely we would see shortages of products and a sharp rise in prices, turning everyday staples like butter, yoghurts, cheese and infant formula, into occasional luxuries. Speciality cheeses, where there are currently limited options for production, may become very scarce,” he added.
The UK’s high demand for milk means that Britain has a dependency on the EU and on dairy-surplus countries including Ireland and Germany. If no deals are made before the UK leaves the EU, dairy products are likely to attract high tariffs and increase in price.
“Brexit might bring opportunities to expand the UK industry in the long-term, but in the short- and medium-term we cannot just switch milk production on and off. Increasing the UK’s milk pool and building the infrastructure for us to be self-sufficient in dairy will take years,” said Amirahmadi.
“There’s no margin to play with here in the value chain. Any disruption means that if we don’t get the practicalities of Brexit right we will face a choice between shortages, extra costs that will inevitably have to be passed on to the consumer, or undermining the world-class standards we have worked so hard to achieve.”
According to the report, every seven-minute delay faced at Dover post-Brexit could cost £111 extra per container due to the extra labour costs.