Calais Crisis: Channel Tunnel Delay Action Urged By Exporter

A seafood exporter has called for more action to tackle the ongoing delays at the Channel Tunnel after losing more than £100,000 of business.

James Cook, managing director of D R Collin, based in Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders, said the problems at Calais are having a significant impact on his business.

The crisis is said to have cost the UK economy millions of pounds as hauliers are forced to dispose of contaminated goods and wait in lengthy queues on the M20 in Kent.

Lorries have repeatedly been targeted by migrants desperately trying to reach Britain.

Last month some vehicles carrying fish from the Highlands to the continent were damaged by protesters in France.

Mr Cook said: This has gone on now for six weeks and we've had problems almost daily. We cannot complete our jobs, we cannot deliver our product to our customers. There has been lots of frustration and lots of financial implications.

We've run up credit notes over the past five weeks for over £100,000. There have been customers that have missed connections, and we've had to find other markets for product.

When you miss your first sale and connection you have to try and place product into the market that's already saturated with product. It's a buyers market on the French side.''

He said they are now missing the chance to catch up after poor fishing due to bad weather over the winter and spring.

Mr Cook, whose company exports products including live langoustines and lobsters, called for more action to tackle the problems.

He said: The Scottish Government have been very proactive in highlighting areas that need to be addressed but it has not been followed up or systematically looked at by Westminster.

The migrant crisis is a big issue and I don't think it's going to go away.''

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond insisted the Government has the crisis in hand and said 100 additional guards are on duty at the terminal.

He said: ''I think we have got a grip on the crisis. We saw a peak last week, since when the number of illegal migrants has tailed off.

''We have taken a number of measures in collaboration with the French authorities and Eurotunnel which are already having an effect and over the next day or two I would expect to have an even greater effect.''

Scottish Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead MSP held urgent talks with processors and transporters yesterday.

He will write seeking urgent talks with the UK Government again to press for an urgent action plan to prioritise lorries carrying perishable goods such as seafood.

Mr Lochhead said: Seafood exports are worth five times as much in Scotland as the UK as a whole - which means Scottish seafood producers are being disproportionately affected by the on-going Channel Tunnel disruption.

I have heard first-hand about orders in some categories being down 80% and valuable European markets built up over decades potentially being lost due to orders not being fulfilled.'' He added:The situation in Calais is clearly complex and requires a multi-agency response involving both the UK and French authorities - and the Scottish Government continues to urge the UK to play its part in a coordinated and comprehensive EU plan to action to deal with the humanitarian issues around the migrant crisis.

But while that is going on, we also urgently need to address the immediate issue around getting vehicles and exports moving again.''

Scotland exported £461 million of seafood to Europe last year.