Concern over food supply as France bans UK freight

Kent Police and Port of Dover implement Operation Stack to queue lorries headed for Europe

Lorries queue to enter the Eurotunnel site in Folkestone, Kent, due to heavy freight traffic on 18 December 2020. (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Concerns around food supply and the importation of goods are rising after France banned the entry of UK freight lorries in response to a new strain of Covid-19 identified in the east and southeast of England.  

The chief executive of the Road Haulage Association (RHA) said maintaining the supply of fresh food will be a "challenge".  

Richard Burnett told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme "fresh food supply where it’s short shelf life and there will be product on its way now, that's where the challenge kind of comes from”.

He added: "The concern that we do have though is that with it being so close to Christmas we're looking at 48 hours at this point in time in terms of the restrictions, we're likely to see Operation Stack building in terms of numbers of vehicles on the UK side and that might be a deterrent for EU hauliers to want to come so close to Christmas and end up being stranded here, that's part of the challenge that we're facing today.

"I think what government are looking at, at this point in time, is actually bringing forward their contingency plans that they'd got laid out for the New Year in terms of [post-Brexit] transition and potentially if we start to see a significant number of vehicles parked on the M20 then we may well actually open up some of the truck parks in Kent, possibly Manston, in order to take high levels of vehicles.

"I did have a conversation with [Transport Secretary] Grant Shapps last night and he has assured me that he's working hard with his French counterparts to ensure this issue is resolved as quickly as possible."

Highways England said: “Following the French government’s announcement it will not accept any passengers arriving from the UK for the next 48 hours, we’re asking the public and particularly hauliers not to travel to Kent ports or other routes to France.

“We expect significant disruption in the area. We are working urgently with the Department for Transport, Kent Police and Kent County Council on contingency measures to minimise traffic disruption in the area.”

Kent Police and the Port of Dover have implemented Operation Stack, an emergency measure wherein the M20 is used to queue lorries headed for Europe to avoid grid-locking Kent’s traffic systems. 

This has closed the motorway between junctions 8 and 11. 

The government said that while they are expecting severe disruption in Kent, other ports facing France will also be impacted. As a result, it has immediately asked all hauliers to avoid all roll-on-roll-off routes to France, including Kent ports.

A government spokesperson said:  “We are expecting significant disruption in Kent following the announcement by the French government that, from 11pm on Sunday, December 20, it will not accept any passengers from the UK for the next 48 hours.

“As a result we are urging everybody – including all hauliers – to avoid travelling to Kent ports until further notice.

“We are working closely with Kent Resilience Forum, Kent Council, Kent Police and Highways England to ensure contingency measures are urgently put in place to manage disruption, and the Prime Minister will chair a COBR meeting tomorrow to discuss the situation.”

Hauliers and their customers should delay shipments or seek other routes, although unaccompanied freight to France and roll-on-roll-off services to other EU countries are not affected.