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The farmer forced to bin 300 tonnes of strawberries because of Brexit paperwork

30 April 2025, 08:20 | Updated: 30 April 2025, 18:02

Tim Chambers, the owner of WB Chambers Farms in Kent, was forced to let 300 tonnes of strawberries rot. Picture: LBC

By Emma Corr

The UK’s leading berry farmer has told LBC he has been forced to let hundreds of tonnes of strawberries rot in fields because of Brexit red tape - and warned UK shoppers should expect shortages and soaring food prices.

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Tim Chambers, the owner of WB Chambers Farms in Kent, said Brexit border delays had left him with “no choice” but to let 300 tonnes of British strawberries bound for Europe rot in his fields last summer.

He said: "There was a market for them, but we couldn't get the fruit there quickly enough because of paperwork and delays.

“We used to be certain we could deliver to our foreign customers on a particular day or even hour — we can’t do that anymore.

"If you lose one day of shelf life on a four-day product, that's 25% of the load and typically a waste level of 10% equates to around £10,000 in losses - we can’t afford to stomach that, so we have to walk away.”

Conservative Leader and prominent Brexit-backer Kemi Badenoch told LBC the UK needs to do “everything we can to reduce trade barriers” with the EU, warning that a global trade war makes the situation even more critical.

She added: “With the trade tariffs that President Trump is putting on the EU, the EU should be looking to reduce trade barriers with the UK.

Ms Badenoch recalled her time as Business Secretary, and said the time to “re-visit” a deal with the EU is “this year”.

“This is the time to start removing barriers and this that’s what the government should be focused on- there’s no reason to make things as complicated as they are.”

LBC has been told the new post-Brexit inspection system brought in a year ago is causing “chaos” at the borders — slamming growers and importers with soaring costs, delays, and a looming threat of higher prices for consumers.

Nigel Jenney, CEO of the Fresh Food Consortium told us: “Delays of up to 20 hours at Border Control Posts (BCPs) are already being reported, and there’s no system to prioritise fresh food and its costing the industry - the figures are enormous.

“For a small business we’re talking costs of £40,000 a year, an average sized business - £300,000 and for big business over a million - these just the fees they’re having to pay to government to have these checks done.

“Ultimately for UK consumers - we’re predicting they will have to pay an extra £200m a year to help cover these costs.

In response to Kemi Badenoch’s comments, he told LBC: “That particular government installed all of these processes much to the disappointment of industry when it proactively offered much more effective solutions.

“If these inspections continue to move forward into the fruit and vegetable sector as expected this year, there will be empty shelves from time to time - without question.

“We’re not being listened to - but our European partners are listening - and are saying ‘enough is enough’ - we don’t want to trade with the UK anymore.”

John Davidson, Financial Director of Tom Brown Wholesale Limited, told LBC he’s seen costs soar over the past year because of checks being done on the flowers they import from Europe.

“We’re looking at extra £225,000 we’ve had to pay out at a time when everything is going up, employer’s National Insurance contributions, rent has gone up - it’s a drain on the business now and we’re having to pass that cost on to our customers.”

He told LBC “frequent delays” are also having a huge impact.

“It’s got worse in last six months; the delays have ramped up and more and more product is being stopped at the border.

“For example on Mother’s Day we had delivery delays of over three hours and couldn’t get flowers to shops until 4pm which was too late and impacted our sales.”

In response to our findings - a spokesperson for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “We are working closely with traders to facilitate movement of goods at the border and will continue to engage with industry to minimise disruption whilst protecting UK biosecurity.

“We will seek to negotiate a veterinary agreement with the EU to prevent unnecessary border checks, boost trade and deliver benefits to businesses and consumers in the UK and the EU.”