The UK government is in "denial" at the scale of the problems exporters face, a trade body has warned.
James Withers, chief executive at Scottish Food and Drink, told MPs on Thursday that trade had not been flowing freely following the end of the Brexit transition period.
He added that issues such as "the sheer weight of paperwork" and "IT systems crashing" were insignificant compared to the government's refusal to acknowledge the gravity of the situation.
This comes as Unionist leaders in Northern Ireland increased their calls for the UK government to scrap part of the Brexit deal to “protect the integrity” of the UK.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, the country’s first minister Arlene Foster said the Northern Ireland Protocol “needs to be replaced” and urged Boris Johnson to take actions to that effect.
Ian Paisley Jr, another DUP politician, told the BBC on Wednesday evening that the 34 days since the end of the Brexit transition period have been an “unmitigated disaster” for Northern Ireland.
Their words follow trade disruptions between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, leading to shortages of some items in supermarkets.
Tensions worsened last week when the EU threatened to introduce vaccine checks on the island of Ireland to prevent doses made in the bloc reaching the UK via Northern Ireland.
EU and UK officials met on Wednesday to discuss concerns over Northern Ireland, with cabinet office minister Michael Gove and his EU counterpart Maros Sefcovic concluding they would “work intensively to find solutions to outstanding issues”.
Mr Johnson has left his position open, insisting he will ensure “there is no barrier down the Irish Sea”.
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