Sainsbury's fears food shortages

British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has warned against empty shelves in stores if transport lines to mainland Europe are not quickly reopened.

New variant coronavirus

Freight traffic from France to the United Kingdom is currently interrupted as a result of wider travel restrictions. These were imposed by many European countries to prevent the spread of a new variant of the coronavirus, which had appeared in England. The Channel Tunnel has been closed to traffic to Europe for at least 48 hours, so no trucks can leave the port of Dover, Reuters reports.

If nothing changes, the supply of lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli and citrus fruits, among others, will be compromised and empty shelves will appear in the shops, Sainsbury’s warned. The supermarket chain is also urging the British and French governments to find a mutually acceptable solution which gives priority to the immediate passage of fresh products and other food in the ports.

Brexit stocks

Sainsbury’s is the second largest supermarket chain in the UK. The retailer claims to have more than enough products in stock for traditional Christmas dinners and is also looking for alternative transport options for European products.

British supermarket chains have already built up large stocks of European products in recent weeks. In doing so, they anticipated the difficult negotiations between the UK and the EU and a possible hard brexit.