From January 1, 2021, any producer wishing to export agri-food produce to Britain will need to have access to an export IT platform used by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue said.
The minister was asked a parliamentary question on the matter by independent TD Carol Nolan as to the number of exporters that have registered for access to this IT system.
In his response, Minister McConalogue said:
To date, 364 clients have registered with the department to get access to this export IT platform.
Providing context to this, the minister explained: “Regardless of the outcome of the current EU-UK trade talks, from January 1, 2021, new regulatory and customs requirements will be part of trading with or through Great Britain.
“My department, as part of the whole-of-government approach, has been very active in relation to preparedness for these significant and enduring changes, including in relation to the provision of export certification in order to meet UK import requirements, in respect of which further detail is still awaited.”
The minister said his department has “conducted an extensive communications campaign” reminding all operators who may be directly impacted by Brexit in their capacity as importers and/or exporters of the need to prepare for Brexit, and the practical steps to be taken in that regard.
“As part of this campaign, I wrote to potentially affected clients last week, asking them to update their registration details so that my department can, for example, ensure that any operator wishing to export product to Great Britain after January 1, 2021, will have the necessary access to a specifically developed export IT platform,” the minister concluded.