European Deliveries Following Brexit

We’ve been here before, haven’t we?

A year ago we contacted all our customers in Eire and across Europe to try and outline our plans following Brexit. And here we are, having to do it all over again.

As we’ve said before, Scotland voted to remain in the EU so the decision to leave is one that is particularly frustrating and painful for us.

As we approach the deadline for finding some sort of deal, the situation remains uncertain and unclear. Cake Stuff is committed to finding ways to continue supplying our cake-making customers throughout Europe but there will be a gap in service until new rules and systems are fully in place.

All our delivery partners are warning that from 1st January 2021 there will be enormous disruption and delays at UK Customs, ports and airports as shipments are checked to ensure they contain all the new necessary paperwork. The way goods exit the UK and enter EU member countries is changing – new paperwork / requirements / processes / duty / tariffs / timescales will mean delays and a huge backlog of goods plus the actual cost of delivery will increase too. Critically, there are already backlogs because of the Coronavirus pandemic – the fewer people who are working at ports have to do so while adhering to social distancing and other safety measures, so the new backlog will be piled on top of the existing backlog and, to us, that just feels like a bit of a disaster waiting to happen.

The main ‘danger period’ in terms of delays will be the first 3 months of 2021. Deliveries of cake decorating supplies are time-sensitive and frequently include edible products, so delays of several weeks is simply not something we want any of our customers to face. We are therefore temporarily suspending all deliveries to Europe from the end of the year, until DPD and our other delivery partners report that the backlog is clearing.

For customers in The Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland, the UK Government’s proposed ‘special customs rules’ will kick in from 1st January. The truth is we still don’t have enough detail from the government or from couriers to be able to offer you clear advice, but it looks like we will also have to temporarily suspend deliveries to Eire and NI until everything is clarified and DPD have new systems in place to process these deliveries smoothly.

We're sorry the news sounds so bleak but the brinksmanship of the UK Government and EU negotiators means that, even this far into December, there is still no clear idea of what happens in just a couple of weeks’ time.

We wish you the very best of luck with your cake business as we move into these uncertain times. We’ll be monitoring the situation daily and the moment the backlog begins to clear we will be delighted to begin deliveries to Europe again. We are here to help and support you through 2021 as best we can.