Lack of border control at Port of Cork hikes cost of fruit and veg

A border control post in Cork would save importers thousands of euro at a time per container and maximise quality and shelf life

The lack of border control in the Port of Cork adds 146,000 extra food miles per month and 166,000 tonnes of additional carbon emissions. Picture: Dan Linehan

Irish consumers are paying more for imported fruit and vegetables because the Port of Cork does not have a border control post.

Food importers say the “illogical and inefficient” system sees at least 2,000 shipping containers of fruit and veg a year, which could be landed in Cork, being diverted to ports in Britain or Europe, for transit back to Ireland for the required checks in Dublin.

Figures released by the Port show the system results in higher prices for consumers for products such as bananas, pineapples, melons, grapes, and citrus fruits. It also results in increased emissions, shorter shelf life, and more food waste, with:

• Over €5m in additional transport costs — around €4,000 extra per container;
• 146,000 extra food miles per month;
• 166,000 tonnes of additional carbon emissions.

A border control post in Cork would save importers thousands of euro at a time per container, maximise quality and shelf life, and eliminate all the unnecessary food miles, food waste, carbon emissions, and ultimately lead to reduced prices for consumers and food importers, the Port of Cork said.

They have urged the government to introduce a ‘common-sense approach’ to agricultural border control checks at the Port of Cork, by introducing temporary exemptions on certain products in the short term to allow cargo travel by road from Cork to Dublin for the necessary checks, but to install and staff a border control post in the long term.

Port of Cork chief commercial officer Conor Mowlds said a short-term derogation allowing goods to be sent to Dublin for checks by road would benefit the environment, consumers, customers, and the economy. 

A border control post is a designated entry point to the EU market through which consignments of food, animals, feed, and plants that are subject to increased import controls must enter the EU. At the moment, only Dublin and Rosslare ports have border control posts.

The Port of Cork said because it doesn’t have a post, containers are being re-routed to ports such as Southampton or Antwerp, before heading back to Ireland for checks in Dublin.

Easyfresh Ireland, a logistics solutions company that specialises in temperature-controlled cargo logistics, has highlighted the issue with the Department of Agriculture.

It led to the introduction of a temporary derogation earlier this year for melons, to coincide with the central American growing season.

However, Easyfresh general manager Gavin Sherwin said it came too late to coordinate and re-route cargo: 

Such procurement plans are agreed months in advance. It was good to see the door open a little on this issue but we truly believe the door can swing open in terms of a commonsense approach on this issue.

“Facilitating the necessary checks or as a compromise in the meantime — allowing for a derogation whereby containers with produce could travel by road for checks in Dublin — would encourage major shipping carriers to consider a direct Cork port call in the future, beyond Maersk’s weekly so-called ‘banana’ boat.”

The Port of Cork chief commercial officer, Conor Mowlds, said derogations in the short term pending the setting up of a border control post at the port would be a win-win for the environment, consumers, customers, and the local and national economy.

Fine Gael TD David Stanton, who has raised the issue in the Dáil several times, said a border control post would be “good for business, the country and the consumer”.

The Department of Agriculture did not respond to requests for comment.