The CEO of UK ‘big four’ supermarket Sainsbury’s has said a UK departure from the European Union without a trade deal in place will result in a shortage of supplies of fresh food.
Mike Coupe told the UK’s BBC broadcaster the scheduled 31 October Brexit date could not come at a worst time for supermarkets because warehouses were already full with Christmas produce and more of the supply of fresh salad had switched to southern Europe.
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His comments echo those of the bosses of fellow UK retailers John Lewis (parent of supermarket group Waitrose) and The Co-op yesterday.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday (12 September) the Government had been “massively accelerating” its preparations, and the country would “be ready” if Britain left the EU without a deal at the end of October.
Since Johnson became Prime Minister, the UK government has consistently stated it wants to strike a withdrawal agreement with the EU but has also underlined the country will leave the bloc on 31 October with our without a deal.
But asked by the BBC whether a shortage of fresh food supplies could be ruled out, Sainsbury’s boss Coupe said: “I disagree with that wholeheartedly, the reality is there will inevitably be disruption, simply because we’ve never done this before.”
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By GlobalDataHis comments follow the release on Wednesday (11 September) of the UK government’s worst-case scenario for no-deal Brexit, which revealed fresh food supply fears.
The Government’s Operation Yellowhammer document, prepared on 2 August but only now made public, forms the basis of no-deal planning based on a 31 October Brexit deadline.
Its worst-case assumptions include the fear that the supply of certain types of fresh food will decrease which could lead to rising prices and panic buying.
