‘No time to lose’: Food importers tell Boris Johnson to act to prevent price hikes and shortages from hard Brexit

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Concerned food importers have revealed the “mountain of paperwork” they face under Boris Johnson’s hard Brexit, making price hikes and shortages inevitable. The warning comes after ministers admitted traders will face multiple border checks on almost all goods from January, even if a no-deal Brexit is avoided, with any hopes of “frictionless trade” abandoned. The BRC also said new IT systems must be “created and tested before 1 January 2021” – after Michael Gove warned they would take five years. “The government must set about to negotiate a zero-tariff agreement that minimises checks and red tape otherwise it will be consumers who suffer as a result,” said Helen Dickinson, its chief executive.