‘Brexit food charges will eradicate my cheese shop’

The fee, known as the “common user charge”, will apply to goods entering the UK from the EU hundreds of miles away through ports and the Eurotunnel at Folkestone, external.

It will be charged per type of imported good – the “commodity line” – and individual products will face a fee of up to £29, capped at £145 for mixed deliveries.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) says the charges will help to pay for “world-class” border facilities.

Meat, fish and dairy products are all to be affected by the fees.

Non-pasteurised cheeses, which make up some of Rachna’s most popular products, will be grouped in the “medium to high-risk” category meaning they are subject to the new charges and checks.

It means they will likely rise in price and while she is reluctant to pass that cost on to customers, she feels she has little choice.

“We can’t afford to absorb the costs,” she said.

“We can try and minimise it but if they are going to keep putting it up and up, the cheese is going to be like that.

“Brie is £3.50 for 100g. If I whack it up to £7, it is just not feasible. People won’t buy it, or they will buy half that amount.

“Where else is there to put the margins up? There’s no place to hide really.”

Prior to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, trade between the bloc was free-flowing.