UK supply chain crisis continues with 1 in 6 people unable to buy basic goods

By Eric

2021.10.12

The UK is in danger of a commodity supply chain break due to a shortage of lorry drivers. People in the UK are preparing early for the Christmas holidays, but there are shortages of goods and even shortages in the country. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), one in six people have been unable to buy basic foodstuffs in the past two weeks.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) collected the views of 3,326 adult citizens, of whom around one in six said they had been unable to buy basic foodstuffs in the past two weeks. Seventeen per cent said it was difficult to buy essential items such as food because they were out of stock, while 23 per cent said there was also a shortage of non-essential ingredients.

A survey conducted by The Grocer magazine also revealed that 2 in 3 consumers are worried about a shortage of food in the run-up to Christmas, so 1 in 3 people have stocked up on Christmas holiday goods.

UK supermarket Waitrose, which opened its Christmas delivery slot last week, recorded 22,000 orders at midday on its first day alone and more than 112,000 orders over the weekend. Online supermarket Ocado also said its Christmas delivery slot was fully booked as soon as it opened.

The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has appointed Dave Lewis, the former head of supermarket Tesco, to advise on how to tackle the supply chain crisis, reflecting the importance the authorities are placing on the supply of goods.

It is reported that the authorities are considering deploying an army of lorries to deliver goods until Christmas to make up for the shortage of lorry drivers and the surge in demand for goods at Christmas.

In addition, a staff member of ISS, one of the largest school food suppliers in the UK, has revealed the need to stock up on long shelf-life food items such as canned food and frozen food to ensure that food is still available in the event of further deterioration.