Importing Fruits and Veg. From Egypt to the UK

[Omar Farouk]

Hi everyone,
I needed some advice on importing fruits and vegetables from Egypt to the UK. Firstly, how do I reach the large supermarket chains, and do I have to set up a company in the UK to be able to import directly to supermarkets or can I import under the name of my company in Egypt. And if I am going to import to suppliers instead of sellers where can I get there contacts or if anyone knows the contacts of some competetive suppliers in the market. The fruits and vegetables in Egypt are of very high quality and they standout very well in the british market, and I am willing to penetrate the market with very competitive prices, so if anyone could help me with any advice I would be pleased.

 

[fisicx]

Start here:

Home - New Spitalfields Market - Spitalfields Market Tenants’ Association Ltd

New Spitalfields Market is Britain’s premier wholesale fruit, vegetable and flower market. The market is a purpose-built site, in Leyton, East London, which opened in 1991. It is the largest revenue-earning fresh produce and flower market in the UK.

newspitalfieldsmarket.co.uk

 

[WaveJumper]

Bringing food into Great Britain

The rules on bringing food or animal products into Great Britain from abroad: restrictions, types of food and the amount you can bring.

www.gov.uk

 

[Customs Geek]

www.gov.uk/bringing-food-into-great-britain/fruit-vegetables-nuts-seeds

Sorry this is only guidance for individuals bringing small quantities of in their baggage.

Commercial imports are much more complex.

 

[Customs Geek]

Start here

www.gov.uk/import-goods-into-uk

www.gov.uk/guidance/importing-and-exporting-fresh-fruit-and-vegetables

The import processes are designed around it being a UK based importer acting as the importer.
It is legally possible for a non UK person / company to import but you need a UK based person or company to represent you. Many of the customs agents won’t do this as they become liable for customs debts. You may be able to find a UK based distributor to act for you.
If you have a UK company it must have UK premises and people .Just A UK company and virtual office isn’t accepted as. Please also remember that having a UK company requires compliance with UK company requirements and tax.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

@Omar Farouk As someone who has imported fruit & veg, my first question would be what experience do you have in this?

Then I would ask what experience do you have in UK distribution?

My guess is you do not have any - you have seen how cheap things are locally and thought that they are so much cheaper than the UK and/or, you have a friend/family who grows who wants to export. There are no issues with this (sort of how I got involved (family)), however, unless you employ or know someone who does know, it will be costly early on (at least).

• Do you know shipping costs?
• Do you know UK clearance & import systems & costs?
• How up are you on phytosanitary regulations, and UK general regulations, for that matter?
• How will you ship/package?
• Will the goods need repackaging in the UK?
• Can you afford the product/shipping/clearance cost and accept potential delayed payment terms?

It is unlikely you will deal with retailers direct and have to go through third party distributors

In this business, writing a business plan, if only to get a better understanding of all aspects and requirements, is extremely important.

BTW, even with 20+ years of importing experience and 'guaranteed' orders from UK distributors, I still got burnt. Big customers know you are sitting on a time sensitive product and will take advantage of this.

 

[Omar Farouk]

Start

Start here

The import processes are designed around it being a UK based importer acting as the importer.
It is legally possible for a non UK person / company to import but you need a UK based person or company to represent you. Many of the customs agents won’t do this as they become liable for customs debts. You may be able to find a UK based distributor to act for you.
If you have a UK company it must have UK premises and people .Just A UK company and virtual office isn’t accepted as. Please also remember that having a UK company requires compliance with UK company requirements and

Thank you for your information,

But to get away for the hassle of storing the goods and looking for local buyers and taxes and all of these challenges do you think it’s better to import the products directly under a supplier’s name, and in this case how can I prevent fraud?

 

[Omar Farouk]

@Omar Farouk As someone who has imported fruit & veg, my first question would be what experience do you have in this?

Then I would ask what experience do you have in UK distribution?

My guess is you do not have any - you have seen how cheap things are locally and thought that they are so much cheaper than the UK and/or, you have a friend/family who grows who wants to export. There are no issues with this (sort of how I got involved (family)), however, unless you employ or know someone who does know, it will be costly early on (at least).

• Do you know shipping costs?
• Do you know UK clearance & import systems & costs?
• How up are you on phytosanitary regulations, and UK general regulations, for that matter?
• How will you ship/package?
• Will the goods need repackaging in the UK?
• Can you afford the product/shipping/clearance cost and accept potential delayed payment terms?

It is unlikely you will deal with retailers direct and have to go through third party distributors

In this business, writing a business plan, if only to get a better understanding of all aspects and requirements, is extremely important.

BTW, even with 20+ years of importing experience and 'guaranteed' orders from UK distributors, I still got burnt. Big customers know you are sitting on a time sensitive product and will take advantage of this.

Hi Paul,

Thank you for your advice. So my family and I have been working in transporting fruits & veg. to countries in the gulf and africa, but we didn’t really work in Europe before, that’s why I am trying to learn how can I penetrate into this business in the UK as things are usually much more complicated here, especially that I am living in the UK at the moment. I also know some a lot of people that export from Egypt to the UK and I am working with exporting stations that actually exprt and do packaging tailored from the UK, but my struggle here is finding contacts for distributors, and also I wanted to know if I can work directly with large supermarket chaings (eg. Tesco, Asda. Lidl, etc.) without the need for a third party distributor if I got someone in the UK to import the goods under his name or not? And in this case will I legally have to pay taxes on these goods or not?

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

It is great that you have general experience

Get the buyers details and contact them direct.
Visit the stores and look at the importer/distributor details on the display
boxes and distribution labels
Employ someone who knows the UK

 

[Customs Geek]

Thank you for your information,

But to get away for the hassle of storing the goods and looking for local buyers and taxes and all of these challenges do you think it’s better to import the products directly under a supplier’s name, and in this case how can I prevent fraud?

I am just advising on the problems that non UK businesses face with the UK customs procedures as they need someone to act as the importer of record in the UK.
The importer of record IOR is responsible for all the UK import taxes , phytosanitary, food safety , labelling etc. Only a UK resident or UK business can do this so there is less chance of fraud or if there is the UK authorities can act against the IOR. The IOR must provide accurate information to declare the goods to customs and other agencies such as port health and DEFRA.