More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
The chaos in Dover brought on by the French travel ban could have a knock-on effect on supermarket shelves even after Christmas.
That's according to industry newspaper The Grocer, which found the situation we are currently seeing will affect the availability of perishables like fruit, vegetables, meat and fish if delays continue and represents what a worst case scenario Brexit could look like.
While the ban was lifted last night, clearing the backlog of 5,000 lorries currently sitting on the M20 and at Manston will likely take days having a huge impact on the food supply chain.
According to the Covent Garden Market Authority, around 50% of the UK's fresh produce comes from Europe at this time of year, the majority of which comes through Dover.
As a result, its experts predict foods such as lettuce, baby spinach, citrus fruits, raspberries and broccoli will be the first to run into short supply should the border crisis continue.
And it's not just fruit and veg that could run low, meat is one of the UK's largest imports and exports.
The British Meat Processors Association CEO, Nick Allen, told The Grocer said: “We are hearing from our members about lorries stuck in queues on both sides of the crossing, which has meant they are having to cut back on production and tell farmers to delay sending animals to abattoirs.”
“Lamb and pork exports have been particularly hit. Many Continental lorries have turned around and gone back home because drivers were worried they would not be able to get home for Christmas."
As well as this, a typical 25-tonne lorry-load of meat could cost anything between £70,000 and £100,000, but with lorries stuck in queues, this will have to be wasted.
Fishermen across the UK are also reliant on cross-channel trade, particularly in December, as most of the UK's catch is exported abroad to customers in France and Spain who order premium seafood for Christmas.
According to industry body Seafish, around £130m of seafood was exported to Europe in December last year alone meaning millions will already have been lost from operations grinding to a halt the past three days.
But it's not all bad news. Kraft Heinz told the publication it sees no impact on its business in the short term, meaning we don't need to be concerned about a shortage of baked beans as all its deliveries are going via the Dutch port of Rotterdam.
