SAINSBURY’S has warned it may run out of some fruit and vegetables after France has banned all freight and travel from the UK for 48 hours.
But there are hopes the disruption will be short-lived after France this morning promised to lift the lorry ban “within hours”.
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Britain’s second largest supermarket made the comments amid the uncertainty in the early hours but at the same time assured customers that there is “plenty” of Christmas food still available.
It warned that “if nothing changes” it will start to see shortages of lettuce, some salad leaves, cauliflower, broccoli and citrus fruit.
In the meantime, the grocery chain said it is sourcing everything it can from the UK and looking into alternative ways to transport goods from Europe.
Sainsbury’s said: “We hope the UK and French governments can come to a mutually agreeable solution that prioritises the immediate passage of produce and any other food at the ports.”
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Yesterday, France closed the border to UK travellers over fears a mutated strain of Covid-19 could spread to Europe.
The new strain, which was first discovered in September, is believed to be up to 70% more contagious and currently concentrated in the south of England.
It is thought to be the main cause of a rapid rise in the number of coronavirus cases despite a nationwide lockdown in England.
On Saturday, Boris Johnson banned Christmas for millions of Brits after placing them in a new Tier 4 with the toughest measures to stop the spread.
Freight hasn’t been banned from entering the UK so goods can still be transported.
But Food and Drink Federation (FDF) boss Ian Wright said last night that truckers from Europe won’t want to travel to the UK if there is a chance they won’t be able to return.
He also warned fresh food supplies face “serious disruption” over the festive period if nothing is resolved.
The Prime Minister is set to hold an emergency Cobra meeting today over the disruption.
This morning, the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the public shouldn’t notice any disruption.
He told the BBC: “The supply chain is pretty robust in as much as you get variations in supply all the time. For the most part, people won’t notice it.”
He added that supplies of the Covid vaccine will not be affected.
At this time of year, the UK relies on imports from the continent to stock supermarket shelves with fresh fruit and vegetables that can’t be grown domestically during winter.
The British Retail Consortium says that in the short term, perishable goods from Spain including berries, lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes will be affected.
A prolonged travel ban won’t affect Christmas supplies as the majority of this has already been imported but it may have an impact in the first few weeks of the new year.
Trade organisation Logistics UK – which represents haulers – said it was “concerned” over the safety of drivers leaving the UK for France.
It also urged that “shoppers should not panic buy” and that retailers will be doing everything they can to make sure stock is in the system.
There are fears the warnings will spark a supermarket shopping frenzy among Brits, recreating scenes of chaos seen ahead of the first Covid-19 lockdown in March.
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But supermarkets have since made their own preparations to make sure this doesn’t happen again in the future.
Andrew Opie, Director of Food & Sustainability at the BRC, said: “Retailers have stocked up on goods ahead of Christmas which should prevent immediate problems.
“However, any prolonged closure of the French border would be a problem as the UK enters the final weeks before the transition ends on December 31.”
Britain faces vaccine and food delays as France BANS flights, ferries and trains travelling out of UK days before Christmas
