UK supermarkets ‘weeks away from gap in shelves’ as supply chains fail
SUPERMARKETS are missing deliveries and not receiving all their stock, it has been reported. This could lead to empty shelves in “weeks” as staff shortages in Britain ensue.
Food shortages could worsen in the coming weeks and months due to staff shortages in various sectors within the food industry. There is a lack of labourers and lorry drivers due to a number of factors.
UK: Supermarkets ‘weeks away from gap in shelves’ as supply chains fail ‘It’s at crisis point’
SUPERMARKETS are missing deliveries and not receiving all their stock, it has been reported. This could lead to empty shelves in “weeks” as staff shortages in Britain ensue
Food shortages are expected to worse in the coming weeks (Image: GETTY )
Food shortages could worsen in the coming weeks and months due to staff shortages in various sectors within the food industry. There is a lack of labourers and lorry drivers due to a number of factors.
Empty shelves are expected due to a lack of lorry drivers (Image: GETTY )
The letter, written by the Road Haulage Association (RHA) and signed by 20 industry bosses, states: “Prior to the pandemic, we estimated a shortage in excess of 60,000.
“Several factors have exacerbated the shortage which is now at crisis point (over 100,000) and critical supply chains are failing.”
The industry bosses wrote that supermarkets are already experiencing shortages of certain products and the problem will “only get worse” if not “urgently” addressed.
The RHA is asking the Government to bring back EU workers as the issue, it claims, cannot be solved by training British workers.Many EU citizens have gone back to the European mainland due to Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic.
This, as well as other factors, have contributed to the shortage in lorry drivers and other workers within the food industry.
The RHA said in the letter: “We ask for the introduction of a temporary worker visa for HGV drivers and for this occupation to be added to the Home Office Shortage Occupation List.”
If the Government does not act, Britons could see more empty shelves in supermarkets and more food products made unavailable
“The government needs to treat this as an absolute priority.”
The shortage of drivers and other workers has become more difficult to control due to the reopening of the economy and the start of the summer holidays.
The strain on the supply chain is expected to intensify in the coming weeks as workers start to use up to five weeks of their accumulated holiday days while on furlough.
Even though most companies see a diminished workforce during the summer months, this is usually balanced out by an equivalent drop in demand as Britons head abroad.
But with most people staying at home this year, the demand on supply chains is set to be constant.
