By Francis Ogwo
In the wake of the debate and fears on Brexit and fears of a no-deal which comes in three weeks with fears of serious implications on the economy, British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has advised supermarkets to stockpile food and other essential supplies.
Johnson and the European Union President, Ursula von der Leyen, had agreed on Sunday to continue with the trade negotiations, but ministers have doubted the possibility of a deal.
With the scare of a no deal imminent, ministers told supermarkets owners to start stockpiling goods.
A senior supermarket consultant had said “There was a conversation a week ago when ministers said prepare for no-deal. This weekend the message is that it’s no-deal.
“Supermarkets and ministers are hugely worried about panic-buying. They saw what happened over Covid when people started hoarding toilet rolls and now how quickly it can go wrong,” the consultant added.
According to reports, there would be serious shortage of vegetables supplies if tariffs were imposed on goods in the event of a no-deal which may likely see food go scarce for three months or more.
While reacting,Andrew Opie who is the Director of Food and Sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said: “Retailers and suppliers are doing everything they can to reduce disruption for consumers, including increasing the stock of non-perishable items and looking at alternative supply routes.
“The main impact of Brexit will be on imported fresh produce, such as much fresh fruit and vegetables, which cannot be stored for long periods by either retailers or consumers.”
The UK government has also urged suppliers of medicines, medical devices and vaccines to stockpile goods worth six weeks at secure locations in the UK.
The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, insisted the UK has “enough diversity of supply” of medicines in the case of a no-deal.
Asked if he could guarantee the flow of medical supplies to the UK, Raab told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “Well of course, with things like vaccines and more generally medical supplies the NHS and DHSC (Department of Health and Social Care) already have a widespread programme of stockpiling and security of supply.
“So I actually think you know, there may be shifts but we’ve got enough diversity of supply.”
He also appeared to confirm a separate report in the Sunday Telegraph that the government has drawn up plans for a bailout worth billions for farmers and food producers in the event of a no-deal
Asked if the government planned to spend £8bn bailing out farmers, Raab said: “We’ll always look, as we’ve shown through coronavirus, that we want to support those vulnerable communities.”
Meanwhile, there continued to be reports of long delays and tailbacks on motorways at the port of Dover as hauliers blamed the queues on stockpiling.
The U.K. left the EU in January but it agreed to keep the same standards and regulations until the end of the year, so both sides would have time to develop new trading arrangements. However, this transition period ends in three weeks and there are serious concerns that they will not have a new agreement ready by then.
