THE HAGUE – The vast majority of trucks carrying flowers, plants, meat, fish and dairy products can still go to the United Kingdom without any problems this week. Only a few drivers are singled out for a physical check of their cargo, say Dutch exporters and transporters. This would have been mandatory for trucks with these loads since Tuesday.
The Central Organization for the Meat Sector (COV), the Association of Wholesalers in Flower Nursery Products (VGB) and transport company Joh. van der Haas suspect that the British need more time to prepare for the change. They expect checks to increase in the coming weeks.
“I think they will increase the percentage per day or week, while 100 percent should already be checked,” says VGB director Matthijs Mesken. “It’s not by a long shot, more like piecemeal. We also hear this from our English colleagues. For now we are only happy with that.”
Certificate
The COV has not heard of a single driver from the meat sector who had to undergo a physical check with his truck. “They are now only sometimes asked to show a certificate, something the British were supposed to start doing three months ago. And if that is not in order, they are only warned and allowed to continue driving. So it is much more pragmatic and accommodating than it was laid down,” says policy officer Ruben van Rooij.
Five trucks with plants from Joh. van der Haas had to wait three to eight hours for a check on Thursday, the other twenty were allowed to continue driving. “It is a bit of a haphazard policy and the rules are unclear. At the port areas, no one knows where the drivers should be, so it all takes longer. But apart from that, so far it hasn’t been too bad,” says Jan-Paul van der Haas, director of the transport company.
Entrepreneurs’ association evofenedex and the Dutch Dairy Organization have not yet received any calls from their supporters about problems. They do not know whether this is due to a lack of controls or the fact that they run smoothly.
Tags: trucks undergo physical inspection
