AIBU to ask if you are all hearing about these import/export problems?

[Jacopo]

This seems to be flying under the radar of news reports but many people seem to be having problems with delays on house renovations/repairs/builds because of shortages of essential materials: doors, windows, glass, wood and - most recently - cement. Are other people hearing the same? These are delays of up to six months for essential components, and Brexit, Covid, and the Suez blockage are all being blamed for the holdup in imports.
On the other hand, a number of small UK exporting businesses which I have used (Facebook, Etsy) are reporting that their previous overseas customers in Germany and elsewhere are no longer buying their product because there’s too much red tape and expense involved.
Are other Mumsnetters hearing these reports? Is this what it’s going to be like going forward?

Yes, DH is a builder, he's been told the same. Also the cost of materials has skyrocketed, and was told it was due to the same reasons.

Yes. See news report here.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57433224
I'm in the same situation as Richard, paid for garden furniture in March was promised May, no sign yet.

I also have a small Etsy business and have also lost EU customers.

I work in retail, we're having issues with foreign suppliers

Yes my in-laws own a small business and the EU market has dropped out. It's also impossible for them to get the parts they need to produce the product they ship because a lot of the materials come from the EU. They predicted this would happen but it's a blow nonetheless.

This is so depressing.

But sovereignty.

And blue passports.

Yes, my DH is involved int hat type of business and says the forms and red tape to do what was so simple before are an absolute nightmare. It's so hard to get stock of certain things.

I have b12 deficiency and am in support groups for this. It's standard in the group to buy in b12 from Europe but this has now become almost impossible, so many suppliers just won't ship to the UK and if they do you can get slapped with a hefty customs charge. Bloody ridiculous idea in the first place, how this is supposed to be 'better' I will never understand

Yes. I have several friends who run their own businesses & all of them have said that sales to the EU have dropped significantly. I've also been hearing that it's going to get even more expensive for EU customers to buy from the UK from July 1st so I can't see the situation improving at all, especially in the short term.

The blue passports feel cheap and shit too.

I've found that all of the red tape and bullshit is actually on the British side the paperwork is a right pain in the bum but it's covid fallout more than brexit for us. (Apart from shippers that won't service Britain any more and offload in Rotterdam)
There's definitely a bottleneck in Italy and some German shipping hubs are overwhelmed.
I deal with a lot of imports, shipments from China are taking twice as long but that's also covid not brexit. Lack of containers and port congestion is a big problem.

Yep I know a lot of people affected. It doesn't seem to be on the news but it seems to be something everyone knows about iyswim.

@baffledcoconut

The blue passports feel cheap and shit too.

Yep and the one I've seen looked more black than blue!

Yes
Ds works for a furniture retailer and they have a drastic reduction in orders especially from Germany
Plus all their stock is stuck in China
It’s costing 5 times as much to export to Europe
He says they just having got the orders to pack

Ds restores traditional plaster mouldings and getting hold of casting plaster and other materials has been a nightmare and prices have rocketed.

Yes, definitely.

I work in the pet industry and there's been quite a few supply issues - mainly fish-related foods/treats and also certain brands of cat food for some reason!

Yes I’ve heard small businesses owners in the uk saying on their FB or Instagram that the cost of shipping and whatever customs charges etc they have have increased massively to EU customers ...eg product worth £30, shipping etc £17, product worth £100, shipping etc £50. It feels like something that was a viable business shipping products to customers across the EU has vanished. Have heard of larger companies moving their manufacturing and warehousing to an EU country so they can provide products to EU customers without these costs.

Yes I work in the area too

Timber prices massively increased this week, cement is in VERY short supply and basics such as plastering angle bead and screws and nails are getting impossible to get hold of. Reasons are still covid related and demand is too high to catch up. Shipping/port issues also factor. Plus bulk buying….every builder remembers the plaster shortage at first lockdown. So they stock up

I was told by my NHS prosthetist that my eye weight is produced by a country in the EU and what would have been previously ordered and received within 6 weeks now takes 6 months.

Bit random I know as it’s not furniture or anything!

Delays my surgery though.

@cupsofcoffee totally off subject here but did you mention treats for FISH?? I don’t know why I find that so amusing 😆

Yes. Another small business with fewer EU customers here.

I'm in Ireland and was an avid Etsy shopper pre Brexit. I will always try to buy from a small business rather than a multinational.

Due to taxes, duties, charges etc I just can't buy from the UK anymore. The price of an item is frequently doubled by the time all the extras are added. It's very frustrating. A lot of businesses, big and small just won't ship to the EU anymore even if I'm prepared to pay the additional charges.

I actually find it really sad.

[quote StacysMomMandyJessiesEx]@cupsofcoffee totally off subject here but did you mention treats for FISH?? I don’t know why I find that so amusing 😆[/quote]

I meant treats made from fish but I LOVE the idea of treats for fish!

I work in the pet industry and there's been quite a few supply issues - mainly fish-related foods/treats and also certain brands of cat food for some reason!

I'm in NZ and there are gaps on the pet food shelves here also at the moment. Lots of things are hard to get here also, or take a long time to arrive so it's not just the UK being affeced.

affected