Brexit caused fewer disruptions than expected and led to a 6% increase in trade between the UK and Europe’s second largest port.

©John Thais / AFP

The chief executive of Europe’s second-largest port said the trade crisis following Brexit was “better than expected”. According to Jacques Vandermeiren, head of the port of Antwerp, UK trade grew 6% last year. Daily mail info.

In the early stages of Britain’s exit from the EU, British companies trying to export their goods to the EU faced a series of difficulties.

Companies had to deal with additional costs and refused deliveries to their European customers.

But Jacques Vandermeiren told the Telegraph that the Brexit situation was “better than we expected in the UK … we were expecting a lot of trouble at the port. But there are months when you do not see any problems. “

The port of Antwerp and Zebrook were given the green light to merge in January, allowing them to manage some of the peak seasons of the year more efficiently.

However he acknowledged that their numbers were not enough to defeat Jack Wander’s’ government’s efforts to force boat owners operating off the coast of the UK to pay the national minimum wage.

This led to companies shipping goods to the UK to Irish ports.

He also expressed concern over the closure of the Shanghai port due to restrictions on the Govt-19 epidemic. Hometown of the world’s largest container port – now under tight lockout since the end of March. Freight and freight vehicles are stranded at sea.

According to Jacques Vandermeiren, global supply chains are expected to be “disrupted” and “shipping container prices increased”.