Stroud Brewery boss Greg Pilley (pictured) aired his views on the folly of leaving Europe as Radio 4’s The World This Weekend visited the Go Organic festival in London.
Presenter Mark Mardell asked the entrepreneur what he made of the uncertainty surrounding Brexit. Greg said: “It’s uncertainty about the uncertainty at the moment. It’s difficult to comment on because we really don’t know what happening and, you know, I’d be so disappointed if there wasn’t some deal, and personally I think the best deal would be if we didn’t leave Europe.
“It’s not perfect, but at least there’s a dialogue and a system, and through that dialogue we have created all sorts of things that make life easier, like common standards or exporting our products with very little paperwork. These things have taken years of negotiation to reach.”
Like many brewers, Stroud exports to Europe and at the moment, says Greg, that couldn’t be simpler. “It is as easy as sending it into London, where we are today.”
The World This Weekend piece focused on the potential problem organic producers in particular face as Brexit looms. If there’s no deal, organic producers might have trouble exporting after March next year. They would be outside EU rules which identify their products as organic, and it takes time to get a similar seal of approval as a non-EU country. This could take nine months, said Helen Browning, also at the festival promoting her organic pork.
