Brexit: £100,000 of tariffs slapped on Fairtrade bananas from Africa threatening farmers with ruin

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 Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. George Kporye, manager of the Golden Exotics company, said it only learned on 1 January that – despite the “agreement” – it was moving onto punishing World Trade Organisation tariffs. “If this issue continues for weeks, it will put the jobs of over 3,000 workers mostly in rural communities at great risk.” Keith Sadler, managing director of importers Compagnie Fruitiere UK, said his firm was paying weekly tariffs of £20,000, adding: “If you add that up, it would be £1m over a year. Mr MacNeil pointed out that Ghana sends more than 40 per cent of exports to the UK, adding: “If importers are forced to move away from sourcing from Ghana, thousands of jobs in rural areas will be put at risk.” Mr Kporye urged Ms Truss to “waive tariffs in the interim period or commit to refund them after the agreement has been signed”. Back in 2017, then-trade secretary Liam Fox promised exporters that “nothing would be done to jeopardise trade with Africa”, as Brexit was carried out, Mr Kporye has said.