The government is urged to “handle” Supply chain crisisThe chairman of the cross-party committee set up to review the post-Brexit trade agreement said that ministers need to take immediate action to avoid empty boxes on Christmas Eve.
“Red tape and labor shortages come from Brexit It has exacerbated the severely felt problems in production, processing, manufacturing, retail and, of course, logistics,” said Odan Connolly, who chaired the special meeting of the British Trade and Commerce Council, and was promoted to independent government consultant in April.
“The government needs to solve this problem in the short and long term. We will make recommendations based on the evidence we heard today.”
The call to action is Coca Cola Confirmed social media reports about inventory shortages, saying that efforts are being made to obtain enough aluminum cans, and the CEO Diageo Confirmed that it faces a “more challenging” environment in terms of logistics, transportation and packaging.Chain restaurants in recent days McDonald’s with Nando’s They also reported interruptions in their supply.
Food, retail and logistics representatives told the European Commission that supply chain difficulties are expected to continue until the end of this year, and warned that if post-Brexit inspections of goods from the EU start in October, the situation may get worse.
“We are actually facing a storm that I can only describe as a perfect storm,” said Richard Harrow, CEO of the British Frozen Food Federation, which represents members of the entire cold supply chain. “Members who usually stock up for Christmas now say that they don’t have the resources to do so.”
“It’s not just a shortage of drivers, we are seeing a shortage of skills throughout the supply chain,” Harrow said. “I have never seen the kind of pressure our members endure. There will inevitably be some price increases around food.”
The British Retail Association warned that retailers are beginning to pass on the increased costs to consumers. Andre Opi, its director of food and sustainability, told the committee that food prices rose slightly last month.
“It feels like we are always on the verge of dealing with the status quo,” Opi said. “Anything special will bring challenges.”
As many retailers begin to increase inventory levels before the critical pre-Christmas trading period, retailers are under pressure.
The logistics department has repeatedly called on the government to launch a short-term visa program for HGV drivers to help Shortage of qualified transporters During Covid and after Brexit, the departure of many EU drivers exacerbated the situation.
Britain is currently About 100,000 HGV drivers are missing, According to the Road Transport Association.
“I have never seen anything like this before,” said Chris Yarsley, policy manager for the industry body British Logistics. He warned that the Drivers and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) will not clear the backlog of HGV drivers waiting to take the test until 2022.
In March, the government Forced to delay the introduction of checks Since the required border infrastructure was not ready in time, goods arriving in the UK from the EU were six months in advance.
However, from October 1st, imports of animal products and foods (such as sausages) that are considered high-risk will require health certificates and pre-shipment notifications. Although these changes are mainly electronic, the real austerity is expected to begin on January 1, when customs officials will begin physical inspections of goods arriving at British ports from the European Union.
“From January, we will stop using trucks,” Opie said. “But what happens if those inspection systems are not ready? We will see the truck turn around.”
