Somerset cheesemaker Wyke Farms has set up a ‘cheese emergency' email for supermarkets in the EU which are experiencing shortages of British cheese following Brexit.
Data from the Office of National Statistics released earlier this month revealed UK exports and imports fell at the fastest level since records began as the post-Brexit trade agreement with the EU threw up huge disruptions to trade.
Wyke Farms, the UK’s largest independent cheesemaker, said after hearing about issues with delays it has been supplying stores in the EU with pallets of cheddar from its French distribution centre.
Wyke Farms managing director Richard Clothier said the company is now encouraging retailers which are facing shortages to get in touch. He said: "When someone has an EU cheese emergency, Wyke Farms are on the frontline delivering what people need to where they need it, as quickly and efficiently as possible”.
The company has also started work to rebuild its dairy in Bruton, which will see it double its cheddar output.
The new dairy, which will be named after Wyke Farms’ first generation of cheesemakers Ivy Clothier, will include a 16,500 metre-squared production facility and will be both energy and water efficient, according to the business. Wyke Farms said it was working towards Q2 of 2023 as a target completion date.
Mr Clothier said: “The Ivy’s Dairy build will be a state-of-the-art cheese making dairy, built to the highest environmental standards. It will enable the family to continue to make Ivy’s 150-year-old recipe cheddar for the next 100 years."
In September, 2020 Wyke Farms opened a new cheese store with space for around 1,700 pallets of cheese, amounting to approximately 2,000 tonnes of additional storage capacity. It also recently opened an export hub at its distribution centre in Wincanton.
The family-run company posted a record £107m turnover for the last financial year, with exports to the EU and the rest of the world up by 20%.
The business also recently revealed that it is helping smaller South West cheesemakers to export to the bloc, amid rising costs and more complex regulations.
