As the problems that faced exporters in January highlighted, groupage is an important part of the export process especially for smaller businesses. With the new requirements for Export Health Certificates and other red tape when exporting seafood and meat to the EU, it is vital that groupage can be conducted efficiently, ideally without additional handling. Distribution hubs, where consignments are collated for groupage and can also be certified for EHC purposes, are an opportunity to help smaller businesses. We welcome Defra’s positive approach to hubs to date. Given the particular importance of groupage for SMEs exporting seafood and meat to the EU, Defra should continue to act as facilitator and proactively encourage collaboration between stakeholders. It should establish a ring-fenced fund that is used to help establish hubs in circumstances where the private sector will not otherwise provide. Defra should also explore with stakeholders the scope for non-hub models of groupage.