LONDON: British supermarket group Sainsbury’s warned on Monday that gaps will start to appear on shelves within days if transport ties are not quickly restored with mainland Europe.
The movement of freight from France has been halted as part of a wider suspension of travel links with Britain to try to curb a new faster-spreading strain of Covid-19.
The French government has closed its border to arrivals from the UK for 48 hours which means no lorries can leave the English port of Dover, the main gateway to Europe.
“If nothing changes, we will start to see gaps over the coming days on lettuce, some salad leaves, cauliflowers, broccoli and citrus fruit — all of which are imported from the continent at this time of year,” Sainsbury’s said.
It urged the British and French governments to come to a mutually agreeable solution that prioritises the immediate passage of produce and any other food at the ports.
Sainsbury’s, Britain’s second-biggest supermarket group, said all products for “the Great British Christmas lunch” were already in the country “and we have plenty of these.”
The group said it was sourcing everything it could from the UK and looking into alternative transport for product sourced from Europe.
Industry group, the British Retail Consortium said retailers had stocked up on goods ahead of Christmas which should prevent immediate problems.
However, it also warned that any prolonged closure of the French border would be a problem as the UK enters the final days before the Brexit transition period with the European Union ends on Dec 31.