Supermarket food shortages must end by Christmas, No10 says after industry warns crisis could last forever

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The No. 10 owner said a supermarket food shortage must end by Christmas, after industry officials warned that the supply chain crisis could last forever.

Sources from Downing Street have suggested empty shelves begin to be refilled “by Christmas” as fears persist over continued food shortages in the UK supply chain.

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The shortage may not go away anytime soon according to industry chiefs Credit: w8media

A spokesman for Boris Johnson dismissed industry expectations that are gone are the days when customers can buy whatever they want at any hour of the day.

He told The Independent: “We reject these allegations.

“We have highly resilient food supply chains that have coped very well in the face of challenges and we believe that will remain so.”

Food shortages have hit the country all summer and industry chiefs have previously warned that there may be no end to the crisis in sight.

The chief executive of the Food and Drink Association, Ian Wright, warned that the supply problems afflicting supermarkets were “going to get worse”.

Supermarkets were not only affected as restaurant chains also suffered from stock shortages, including Nando’s and McDonald’s.

This means that some store shelves have been left empty, and restaurants have had to remove items from their menus.

The problems were pinned to a shortage of truck drivers and food processing staff due to Brexit and Covid, as well as the fallout from the “pandemic”.

There are also increased waiting times to receive HGV licenses, which could also be partly responsible.

The staff shortage chaos has been so influential that it has encouraged some companies to offer incentives for new starters, to help increase their workforce.

Tesco, Asda and Amazon have announced job roles with a bonus of £1,000 upon joining, amid the crisis.

The Food and Drink Association represents more than 800 food and drink companies in the UK, but says the country is short of around 500,000 workers in the industry.

Companies, in some cases, have to prioritize products so that they are placed on shelves, so for some shoppers this may mean that they will miss out on their favorite items, and they can’t pick up supplies anytime they want.

Mr Wright had said: “Last week, the whole of eastern England was not supplied with bottled water mainly because it was not possible for the companies moving these things to supply them and everything else.”

“So the companies made the decision to prioritize products by a higher margin.”

In addition to product shortages, supermarket prices will rise due to an ongoing shortage of truck drivers, the president of Morrisons also warned.

But while Wright said the shortages may be permanent, Downing Street has previously assured festive foodies that supermarket shortages will be sorted out in time for pigs in blankets this Christmas.

Supermarkets, bars and restaurants were affected, blaming a shortage of truck drivers for causing problems in their supply chains, including product shortages.

The lack of truck drivers, in turn, has been blamed on EU workers leaving the UK after Brexit, as well as tax changes that increase the cost of hiring UK drivers from Europe.

Mr. Wright emphasized, however, that “this shortage does not mean we are out of food”.

He also said the shortage of truck drivers in some areas is partly due to them moving to online retailers and starting delivery to Amazon and Tesco due to added incentives, better wages and better working hours as well.

Not only has the food industry been affected by the employment crunch and the truck driver crisis, councils across the country are facing persistent delays in collecting litter boxes as driver shortages persist.

Additionally, there were impacts on the garden furniture supply inventory earlier in the summer as well.

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UK food shortages persist Credit: w8media

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Industry experts believe problems can continue without end in sight Credit: w8media McDonald fans tell a news report he’s ‘stunned’ by the lack of milkshakes We’re paying for your stories! Do you have a story for the Sun Online Money team?

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