A HAMPSHIRE firm has announced more than 50 jobs will go today following the abolition of duty-free trading.

Nuiance Global Trading, which employs several hundred people in the Southampton and Eastleigh area, said the company has had no choice but to "change direction".

The company is one of the world's largest sup-plies of duty-free goods to airports and cross channel ferry operators.

Spokesman Ken Berridge, the company's business development manager, said: "We can still sell duty-free goods to people going to destinations outside the European Union and that includes the Canary Islands and the Channel Islands.

"While we will lose 40 per cent of our business, we've now got to concentrate on the rest of the business."

The travellers' shopping perk comes to an end at midnight tonight. Last ditch moves to save the duty-free allowances failed and the abolition will go-ahead as originally decided by EU leaders in 1991.

But it has been claimed Hampshire shoppers will be better by off stocking up on drink before going abroad once duty-free is abolished.

This is the advice from Britain's leading super-markets, who claim passengers travelling within the European Union would save more going to their local store than accepting the price promises of duty-free traders.

Asda said its prices were consistently lower than duty-free shops at airports and on cross-Channel ferries and would remain so.

This comes amid assurances from duty-free traders they will maintain the best prices for consumers and absorb the increased costs.

BAA, the world's largest duty-free trader, and which runs the shops at many airports, includ-ing Southampton, said today that it would maintain duty-free prices on 90 per cent of goods for EU travellers after today.

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