Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
More than a quarter of small exporters have ceased selling to customers in the EU following post-Brexit transition delays.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) warns that what might have been previously dismissed as ‘teething problems’ could become systemic.
A survey of nearly 1,500 small companies carried out by the FSB found that 23 per cent had temporarily stopped selling to the EU while four per cent had halted sales permanently. Eleven per cent of exporters were said to be considering a permanent halt.
The same proportion had set up or were thinking of establishing a presence in a European country to make the process easier. Around nine per cent may secure, or are already using, warehouses in mainland Europe or Northern Ireland for the same purpose.
Small importers have been particularly hard hit by new paperwork as 17 per cent temporarily halt purchases from the EU. What’s more, a massive 70 per cent of importers and exporters say they have suffered delays when moving goods around the EU in recent weeks. More than 30 per cent have lost goods in transit and a slightly higher proportion have had goods held indefinitely at EU border crossings. Of

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