Food and drink companies will hear from trade and customs experts about the implications of the UK's new approach to implementing post-Brexit border controls at a key industry event in March.

The Institute of Export & International Trade (IOE&IT) is presenting seminars across all three days of the International Food & Drink Event (IFE) [1] at ExCel London, which starts on 20th March.

One of the seminars is a ‘landmark session' on how the government's new ‘Target Operating Model' - expected to be announced in the coming weeks - will impact post-Brexit processes for importing goods into Britain from the EU.

IOE&IT is also exhibiting at the show and powering its ‘Exporters Hub'. Delegates are invited to meet the IOE&IT team at stand 3534 to hear how the organisation is supporting traders adapt to new post-Brexit rules and processes through training, qualifications and its wide range of membership benefits.

Target Operating Model

Since leaving the EU, the UK government has been introducing controls on goods entering Britain from the EU in phases. However, many of the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks that were due to have been introduced for agrifood products have been postponed due to the pressures on business caused by the pandemic and war in Ukraine.

In April 2022, the government announced that it would be adopting a new approach to implementing import controls on EU goods, which would be revealed via a new Target Operating Model. This new model is going to "be based on a better assessment of risk and will harness the power of data and technology," the government announced [2].

The model is expected to be published in the coming weeks and the IOE&IT will give an overview of what its implications are for businesses - particularly agrifood traders - at IFE in March.

IOE&IT will also be presenting seminars at the show's Exporters Hub on the various other new rules, processes and IT systems that have been introduced for food and drink trade since Brexit.

Arshad Dadabhoy, a trade and customs specialist team lead at the IOE&IT, says importers attending IFE should prioritise attending the IOE&IT seminar on the Target Operating Model as it will have "significant implications" for how they do business with the EU.

"The Target Operating Model is going to be a seismic moment for the industry, with significant implications for agrifood businesses that import goods from the EU," he said. " IFE [3].