Supermarket shortages ‘to last for ever’
THE days when shoppers could buy anything they wanted from supermarkets are over, an industry leader said yesterday.
gaps on shelves are likely to be a permanent issue because of the impact of labour shortages on supplies, food and Drink federation chief executive ian Wright said.
His intervention comes as record levels of fresh produce are being left to rot because of a lack of workers to pick, pack and deliver crops. The chronic shortage – estimated at 500,000 – is hitting the entire food chain from farms to the high street, according to industry trade bodies.
Mr Wright said: ‘The result of the labour shortages is that the just-in-time system that has sustained supermarkets, convenience stores and restaurants – so the food has arrived on the shelf or in the kitchen, just when you need it – is no longer working.
‘i don’t think it will work again, i think we are now in for permanent shortages.’
He added: ‘What is changing now is that the uK shopper and consumer could have previously expected just about every product they want to be on a shelf or in the restaurant all the time. That’s over, and i don’t think it’s coming back.’
Tonnes of food is going to waste at the same time as supermarkets and restaurants complain they cannot get deliveries of the produce they need. farmers are dumping milk, while McDonald’s has stopped selling milkshakes because it cannot get supplies.
farmers, retailers, hauliers and manufacturers have called on the government to relax Brexit immigration controls to allow more European workers into the uK, but this has been rejected. national farmers’ union (nfu) horticulture expert ali Capper said the situation had created ‘inexcusable’ levels of food waste.
‘it feels like such a car crash at the moment,’ she said. ‘Everybody’s so short of staff and wages are inflating like mad. i’m hearing of wage inflation of anywhere between 15 to 30 per cent year on year.’
The chairman of British Summer fruits, nick Marston, told The grocer: ‘We’ll have higher crop losses than ever.
‘and horticultural performance, in terms of yields and fruit quality, will probably have reduced because we haven’t got the labour to conduct critical husbandry tasks.’
This week, farmers have been dumping milk because there are not enough tanker drivers to make collections.
Stoke-on-Trent dairy farmer andrew Mellor, who poured away 1,500 litres of milk, said: ‘in all my years farming, i have never had to throw milk away due to driver shortages.’
Michael Oakes, nfu dairy board chairman, said ministers had failed to understand the seriousness of the crisis.
‘The government must live in a cave not to notice empty supermarket shelves and limited menus at fast-food outlets,’ he said. ‘until we see more emptiness at retail and food service level, i am not sure the government will listen.’
British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson said: ‘food price rises are likely in the coming months. in the run-up to Christmas, the situation could get worse, and customers may see reduced choice and increased prices.’
‘Everybody’s so short of staff’