Tesco, the leading multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer, is reportedly set to make dealers ship food to Northern Ireland through the Irish Sea on their own, stating that the border checks have become a much more complex process.
As per reports, the retail firm is working towards changing as to how it delivers produce to its stores across Northern Ireland as soon as Brexit checks are launched in October.
The United Kingdom is planning on unveiling phased border checks on food items in the Irish Sea from October. However, sea border included in the deal has been the major practical challenge, with Northern Ireland having stayed part of the single market of the EU for goods, meanwhile the rest of the United Kingdom has left.
The retail giant has allegedly asked a few of its suppliers to begin delivering their own items from Great Britain into the Republic of Ireland. From there, the firm will take the supplies over the border into the Northern Ireland region.
It is in fact believed that these plans might be followed by other top grocers, who are looking to avoid any sort of delays and paperwork at the Irish Sea border. However, lobby groups of the suppliers have raised concern that they will be hit with additional costs because of the proposals.
A Tesco spokesman stated that through the Brexit transition period, Tesco has worked jointly with its suppliers and also provided a lot of support wherever possible, so as to reduce any potential interruption for consumers.
The spokesman added that the upcoming mandates on transporting particular food items across Northern Ireland are quite complex, and Tesco is in contact with its suppliers to ascertain how the firm could make this process more efficient in the following months.
Source credit: https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2021/05/tesco-tells-suppliers-to-ship-food-across-irish-sea-themselves/