The future of the Canary tomato company Horticultural Aldeana as an exporter to the United Kingdom depends on the aid that it currently receives for selling to that destination.
Its manager, Juan Antonio Angulo, says that the problem is that the two lines of subsidies he currently receives will be granted for as long as the United Kingdom is a member of the European Union, so in theory, Brexit would effectively put an end to them.
It is a "serious" situation, in the words of Angulo, because the export of Canary tomatoes is "economically unfeasible without the aid."
To be precise, the company receives transport aid funds, since it is based in an outermost region and is shipping to a member of the EU in the framework of the Posei program.
If there was a deal for the United Kingdom's exit, there would still be a two year transition period in which the current "status quo" would be maintained; a period that, according to Angulo, would be used to seek alternatives subsidized in other ways. However, if there is an abrupt Brexit, "everything will grind to a halt."
Despite this, they trust in the efforts of the Government of the Canary Islands, which has already conveyed its concern to the EU, and "it seems that Brussels is open to listening."
They have also contacted the Customs service to prepare the necessary authorizations in case of a no-deal Brexit, which would immediately turn the United Kingdom into a third country. "It's a possible scenario and I imagine that there would be chaos at all levels," he says.
In their case, it has also not been possible to do like other companies in the wine or olive sectors, which are shipping more stocks in order to store them in the United Kingdom, since tomatoes are a perishable product.
These days, Angulo is keeping a close eye on the Brexit negotiations, which is logical, since 80% of his firm's annual production, which amounts to 3.6 million kilos, goes to the United Kingdom. In fact, they have been shipping there since even before of the EU's creation.
Source: efeagro.com