Britain could face gaps on supermarket shelves this summer and an "unimaginable" collapse of supply chains after the pandemic and Brexit led to a shortage of more than 100,000 truck drivers, industry leaders have warned.
In a June 23 letter sent to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the industry called for his personal intervention to allow access to European labour by introducing temporary worker visas for HGV drivers and adding them to a "shortage occupation list".
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A government spokesman said however that with the country's new post-Brexit immigration system, the industry should look to hire local workers instead.
"Supermarkets are already reporting that they are not receiving their expectedfoodstocks and, as a result, there is considerable wastage," said Richard Burnett, the chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, which co-ordinated the letter.
Britain's supermarket industry, led by Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons, relies on an army of drivers and warehouse workers to bring fresh produce from the fields of Europe to its shelves.