Before Brexit, it was as easy to send a shipment of meat to Bavaria as it was to Birmingham, but since Britain left the EU, trade with the continent requires significantly more paperwork, cost and effort. Animal products such as meat have a particularly high number of checks and documents. What follows is an example of all the possible steps an exporter faces to ensure a shipment of meat from Great Britain reaches a customer in the EU. It includes a physical inspection of the goods by customs in France, which currently takes place for about one in five loads. If the load is rejected, delivery can be delayed, and in the worst case the goods are re-exported or even destroyed.

Source: The Guardian March 24, 2021 14:48 UTC