PARIS — The European Union expects Britain to seek its assistance to avoid disruption to food imports in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the EU’s agriculture chief said on Saturday. The British food industry has warned of price rises and fresh produce shortages if Brexit terms are not agreed, and EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan said Britain’s reliance on imports for 40 per cent of its food supply meant this was a high risk for the government. “I don’t think they will want a situation where they will have a logistical problem at their ports, that they will have food shortages and food prices going up in the shops,” Hogan added. The EU would prefer a “soft” Brexit with a transition period, as set out in last year’s withdrawal agreement agreed by May and the other 27 EU countries, but was “ready for the worst-case scenario,” Hogan said. But EU agriculture’s experience of dealing with crises such as the Russian food embargo from 2014 and widespread cases of mad cow disease two decades ago would help it cope with an abrupt Brexit, Hogan said.

Source: National Post February 23, 2019 21:30 UTC