Brexit: how it has hit your wallet at the supermarket and on holiday

Trade barriers on food imports after Britain left the EU resulted in soaring food costs. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian View image in fullscreen Trade barriers on food imports after Britain left the EU resulted in soaring food costs. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian Brexit: how it has hit your wallet at the supermarket and on holiday Ten years on, leaving the EU has made life more difficult and costly – here are some of the ways we’ve lost out It is 10 years since voters in the UK chose to leave the EU, and our wallets have been feeling the effects ever since. From paying more to take the dog on holidays in France – and making calls while you are there – to higher grocery bills and the headache of filling in customs forms for parcels, Brexit has made many simple tasks more complicated and expensive. Here is how the vote to leave has hit our pockets. Grocery bills Trade barriers on food imports after Britain left the EU resulted in the cost of food soaring by 12%. Researchers from the London School of Economics estimate that between 2019 and 2023 the price rises cost the average family £400. The price increases have been felt most by low-income households as they spend a greater share of their income on food compared with wealthier homes. Some of this impact could be mitigated by plans for a new food export agreement between the UK and the EU, which the British government claims will reduce food costs and increase the variety of goods on supermarket shelves . The deal will mean no more paperwork or physical checks on dairy, fish, cheese, eggs and fresh red meat for EU exporters to the UK and could come into force in the summer of 2027. Travelling with pets If you wanted to take your dog or cat with you on holiday to an EU country before Brexit, the process was relatively simple. A pet passport was an official document that detailed your animal’s vaccination and microchip details as well as information about you as the owner. Under the EU Pet Travel Scheme, it cost £60 to get the passport itself and about £50 for them to be vaccinated and microchipped, although the costs varied. The pet passport was valid for life provided the vaccinations were up to date. Since 2021 the process has been more expensive. An EU pet passport issued to an owner resident in Great Britain is no longer a valid document for travelling with pets to member countries. It has been replaced by the animal health certificate for dogs, cats and ferrets. This document must be issued within 10 days of entry to the EU and is valid for six months. You need a new certificate for each trip to a member country. View image in fullscreen Taking a pet on holiday to an EU country has become more complicated. Photograph: Lourdes Balduque/Getty Images The British Veterinary Association has said the new documents are more onerous, complex and time-consuming for vets to complete – as a result, they are more expensive and will now cost you an average of £230 . Be warned: