In a letter to DEFRA in June, seen by Bloomberg, industry body TIMCON has warned that the U.K.& #39;s supply of pallets won& #39;t be 100% ready in time for Brexit.

They need to be heat-treated to comply with ISPM-15, an international standard to prevent spread of pests and disease 2/
The ISPM-15 requirement is referenced in the U.K.& #39;s 206-page border plan 3/ https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/899991/200713_BPDG_-_Border_Operating_Model_FINAL_1320_edit.pdf">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/governmen...
As an EU member, the U.K. didn& #39;t need ISPM-15 compliant pallets for intra-EU trade, because the EU has an exemption between member states.

That exemption will fall away after Brexit 4/
~100m pallets move between the U.K. and EU annually, according to industry body TIMCON.

So the U.K. timber industry has been working frantically to heat-treat its supply of pallets, but preparations have been hurt by coronavirus, according to TIMCON president John Dye 5/
Pallet-makers have been installing extra kilns, but with engineers on furlough due to the virus, installations were badly delayed.

Dye said he& #39;s disappointed the Govt didn& #39;t seek a Brexit extension because of the time lost 6/
The logistics industry has been warning of this issue for some time, and the TIMCON letter confirms it& #39;s still an outstanding problem for the government 7/ https://twitter.com/BastidonPauline/status/1225358126658064389">https://twitter.com/BastidonP...
I asked DEFRA if it agreed with the timber industry that there would be a shortage. Their statement:

“Treatment capacity for wooden pallets has increased. We are working closely with industry to help ensure a sufficient stock of compliant pallets in time for January.” 8/
Which doesn& #39;t quite answer the question... but anyway, bottom line is it& #39;s likely some traders will be moving goods into the EU from Jan 1 with non-compliant pallets, and they could be legitimately stopped by the EU from entering 9/
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