Food supply crisis that forced Nando’s closure ‘shows no sign of quickly resolving’

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Supply chain experts have warned that the distribution crisis that has forced Nando’s to close nearly 50 restaurants will continue for the foreseeable future.

Nando has closed about 45 restaurants through at least Saturday amid a shortage of chicken as a result of staff shortages and a nationwide shortage of truck drivers.

Banners in restaurant windows blamed a lack of inventory from suppliers, while online customers were told the company was affected by Covid isolation among employees.

Industry sources said ministers did not heed repeated warnings that the repercussions of Britain’s exit from the European Union, EU labor rules and logistical problems would continue to affect food supplies.

Avra Foods, one of the country’s largest suppliers of chicken to supermarkets and restaurants, said Britain’s workforce was “severely depleted as a result of Brexit” and that this was “putting strains on UK supply chains in multiple sectors”.

She added: “It appears increasingly likely that this is a structural change in the UK labor market, which is showing no clear sign of resolving quickly.”

A source in the poultry industry said: “We raised this issue with the government several weeks ago and nothing significant has happened since then, so it is clearly not going away.

“We need new workers to come on board to meet this demand and, while Devra [Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] It was helpful, the problem is with the Home Office. There is a 10-20 percent staff shortage, so we need some urgent changes to move workers overseas that can fill that gap.”

Thousands of truck drivers are no longer on the road

Several companies are reporting a shortage of drivers and operators at food processing centres, as the UK has been hit by the departure of hundreds of European drivers after Brexit and the start of the Covid pandemic. The Road Transport Association estimates that around 30,000 drivers have stopped working in Britain since the UK left the European Union.

Nando’s said it has loaned about 70 employees to suppliers to help package and crate products and support their operations, but industry sources said this “wouldn’t touch aspects”.

The industry source added that the “complexity” of requirements for products ordered by food outlets such as Nando and KFC means they will face greater levels of disruption due to staff shortages than shops.

A Nando’s spokesperson said: “The UK food industry has experienced disruption across its supply chain in recent weeks due to staff shortages and a number of our restaurants affected.

“However, since Monday, a team of our wonderful Nandocas have been supporting our key suppliers on site, working in partnership to help get things moving again, and this has already had a positive impact. As of Saturday, as a result of hard work behind the scenes, we intend All our restaurants are open again.”

Trade body UKH Hospitality said in July that problems with supply chains were widespread, with nearly 60 per cent reporting delivery delays, non-receipt of products or significant price inflation.

Nando’s crisis comes a week after KFC said it was struggling to stockpile some items or use its regular packaging due to “some disruption” in recent weeks.

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