With contracts now sewn up Alliance said some lamb that would have traditionally gone to UK retailers for the crucial Christmas trading period will now go elsewhere.
“Not a lot but we are conscious that it is no good waiting to the last minute and then finding that things turn to custard,” chairman Murray Taggart said.
“We have just adjusted the balance slightly.”
Britain is due to leave the EU on October 31, just as New Zealand’s chilled lamb exports to the UK get into gear.
While it is still far from certain the UK will leave on that date Taggart said the co-operative wants to minimise its exposure to any Brexit hiccups.
“But we are also conscious that we have been in that market for 60 years now and we have got some long-standing customers and you do not just drop them like a hot potato.
“So we are trying to tread a middle line of trying to look after our customers and not put our business at undue risk.”
The UK has agreed NZ exports will be waved through British ports using existing EU documentation for an undefined period following Brexit.
However, concerns remain that British ports could become gridlocked in the immediate aftermath as border officials get to grips with significant new tariffs and documentation accompanying imports from the EU should the UK leave without a trade deal.
Taggart said Channel ports such as Dover are those most likely to be disrupted.
Most NZ meat exports are landed at so-called international ports, such as Felixstowe, further up the coast.
“We are hoping that port disruption will not be as bad for us.”
Still, there is a chance NZ meat exports might be caught up in the chaos should cargo be diverted to international ports from Dover.
“We have considered every possibility and clearly that is one.
“But it comes down to you cannot just turn your boat round and go somewhere else.
“It has got to have a berth allocated and it has got to be booked in and people cannot just change overnight quite as you might imagine.”
Asked who picks up the bill should chilled lamb end up losing shelf life or even spoiling waiting to clear British wharves Taggart did not answer directly.
“Certainly, everyone is conscious of that and that is the risk we are talking about.”
Taggart said Alliance is lucky it can divert lamb earmarked for the UK to other premium markets.
“Basically, places like North America will pay equivalent prices and we have got a bit more certainty.”
British Parliamentarians last week passed legislation compelling Prime Minister Boris Johnson to seek a three-month delay to Brexit if he has not brokered a trade deal with the EU by October 19.
Johnson, however, is adamant the UK will leave as planned on October 31 with or without a deal.
