How are you preparing for Brexit?

[jansman]

Well , the Brexit med stash has come in handy. Mrs J has had to start taking ‘Flu’ capsules as she feels like ####. I will replace that with two more I think. Glad I got off my backside on that one.

Reading the news now, about EU emphatically refusing further negotiations, emergency centres,haulage checks taking 8 hours per truck , it’s looking gloomier.

[hobo]

Well , the Brexit med stash has come in handy. Mrs J has had to start taking ‘Flu’ capsules as she feels like ####. I will replace that with two more I think. Glad I got off my backside on that one.

Reading the news now, about EU emphatically refusing further negotiations, emergency centres,haulage checks taking 8 hours per truck , it’s looking gloomier.

Same here with Mrs H. Realising I need to buy double (or more) what I'd planned!

[grenfell]

I think like most I'm increasing storage of whatever can be had at a decent price on the obvious proviso that it's something we use ( or I suppose what others may wish to buy if that commodity were to disappear or go scarce ) so little need to elaborate.
One question to all is how long can you see the disruption lasting and will it return to some sort of normality? ( Ok so that could be two questions) . Are we going to see a spike in prices that will settle back after a period or will pieces shoot up and stay high, will canny importers find their way around the problems , likely I think , we are a business focused economy and people are not going to walk away from markets or will the fallout from brexit put European firms out of business as they find they can't compete? There's talk of eight hour long checks on lorries , scaremongering I know but such delays would make it unviable for much of the movement that goes on now, ironically less lorries , less movement is at least good news envoiromentally .
I've taken this whole brexit thing with a large dose of salt as I think both sides overhyped both the up and downsides. As I think we are already in the early stages of decline things are unlikely to get better either way and the decision to leave or stay was really a question of " which is the least worse path?" .

[Deeps]

I think like most I'm increasing storage of whatever can be had at a decent price on the obvious proviso that it's something we use ( or I suppose what others may wish to buy if that commodity were to disappear or go scarce ) so little need to elaborate.
One question to all is how long can you see the disruption lasting and will it return to some sort of normality? ( Ok so that could be two questions) . Are we going to see a spike in prices that will settle back after a period or will pieces shoot up and stay high, will canny importers find their way around the problems , likely I think , we are a business focused economy and people are not going to walk away from markets or will the fallout from brexit put European firms out of business as they find they can't compete? There's talk of eight hour long checks on lorries , scaremongering I know but such delays would make it unviable for much of the movement that goes on now, ironically less lorries , less movement is at least good news envoiromentally .
I've taken this whole brexit thing with a large dose of salt as I think both sides overhyped both the up and downsides. As I think we are already in the early stages of decline things are unlikely to get better either way and the decision to leave or stay was really a question of " which is the least worse path?" .

Personally I think there will be a spike in price post-Brexit. There will be some supplies issues that will need to be ironed out, and they will, as you say, we're a business based economy so if there is a problem, someone will try and fix it if its going to generate cash. If (a very big if, I share your cynicism of it) there are 8 hour delays on lorries, some bright young thing will come up with a way to shorten it (or we'll just be less thorough doing the checks), necessity being the mother of invention and all that. The big question is how long will it take ???? I'd like to think that arrangements have quietly started behind the scenes so it will be weeks rather than months for things to be sorted.

I think things will settle down, whether that's with trade agreements with Europe or other countries, who knows but we're a rich country that people want to trade with. I suspect that the various merchants will use it as an excuse to up prices though, its what happens.

[ForgeCorvus]

I suspect that the various merchants will use it as an excuse to up prices though, its what happens.

This is what I'm thinking.
Its not that we won't have whatever, its just that somebody is going to use the 'B' word as an excuse to up prices..... Exactly the same way the petrol goes up instantly when the price of oil rises but only drops very slowly when oil loses value.

[jansman]

All the above! But we don’t know do we? For us, the stores are to allow for a supply hiccup, or for transition to a slightly more austere situation. As a gardener, I am aware that this will happen right at the start of the old, traditional hungry gap. So it will be 3 months until U.K. crops start coming in.

[grenfell]

Thanks for the replies . My own feelings are similar , some price rises , some disruption to supplies possibly for the first year at worst until other deals are formulated . Even a quite a strident left winger I have to admit that companies in the business of making money aren't simply going to turn away from what is a very large market after all.
I've read stories of Dover becoming gridlocked with lorrries full of rotting produce , planes not being able to fly ,drugs and medicines disapppearing and anything up to a century before our economy recovers all of which I take with a pinch of salt and feel are all overhyped.

All the above! But we don’t know do we?

101% true , no one actually knows it's all guesswork . There's even very little historically to base these guesses or predictions on. I never say worst case scenario simply because the very worst is highly unlikely and frankly beyond many nation states to prep for let alone the individual but just keep an underlying feeling that things will be a bit more expensive and life just a bit more shitty than now and think I won't go far wrong.

[diamond lil]

This is a big part of the problem - the timing. End of March is the hungry gap as Jansman says, and there won't be much to fill the salad bowls ... or the stew pot either.

[jansman]

I found this grenfell:https://apple.news/A_nTrcIBeRPmXOOhu6RzOuA

It took New Zealand a log time to recover after WE joined the EEC as it was then, as they lost us as a trading partner.

[jennyjj01]

Some really good and easy to read charts here...

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... -uk-supply

It shows that "The three largest value imported commodity groups (at 2017 prices) were fruit & vegetables, meat and beverages" Coffee is also pretty much a category of its own.

Since my SHTF stockpile is already low in meat products, I'm inclined to buy a modest stash of canned meat. The price of canned meat products is pretty high already at typically £1.50 for a 400g can, though. Currently looking at Sainsbury Chicken Tikka and Sainsbury Chicken in white sauce, each of which are >40% lean meat, and pretty good quality with it.

Much more Dried milk, Tea and Coffee to be added too, though that is darned expensive, even now.
Also, I think I'll invest in a few kg of 'mixed dried fruit, cereals and flour. At least with those and milk, I'll have breakfast sorted for a few months. Sadly fruit and cereals are bulky and low shelf life and expensive. worst of all worlds, I suppose. But isn't that what stops the suppliers from stockpiling them for us?

I just realised all my rice is long grain or basmati. Tomorrow I branch out to arborio / paella rice and some flavourings for the survival rations.