UK faces 'permanent' food shortages

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/uk-faces-permanent-food-shortages-21533789

by colinprince • 5 years ago

17 17 5 years ago

liverpoolecho.co.uk

mc32• 5 years ago

Due to distribution issues (truck divers) and not due to insufficient production -I think that's a big difference. Apparently Firms like Amazon and Tesco pay better and have syphoned off some of the workforce. Pay more and you might see a move to the country.

hogFeast2• 5 years ago

They pay more for non-distribution jobs. You, usually, have to pay thousands to train on an HGV, it requires substantial time and training, and it is relatively stressful job...and you can make more working in Tesco stacking shelves. You make way more working in an Amazon warehouse. The pay for distribution jobs in Tesco outside of online and Amazon deliveries is actually pretty poor.

There was a huge shortage of HGV drivers before Covid, and before Brexit...it is just the govt and industry did literally nothing, even though they knew the average age of drivers is 55+, and all the drivers are retiring because of the conditions.

I think the big problem was less Brexit, and more the fact that the industry relied very heavily on cheap foreign labour that all went back to their countries when Covid hit.

There are problems with production too but they are largely: people having to self-isolate, and industrial action (it hasn't been in the media but strikes have hit certain companies, unf the big trade unions smell blood so they are pushing hard to shutdown the economy again).

But most supermarkets got what they had coming to them. Lidl was totally boycotted earlier last month because they had a habit of making drivers wait hours until they were ready to unload, and refusing any delivery if it was 15 minutes late. Some stores were totally empty...and they learned their lesson.

Also, I will say too: I haven't really noticed any shortages, two months ago my supermarket had some trouble getting a certain brand of bakery products for a couple of days...that was it (although some producers have been hit, it isn't widespread at all). Newspapers in the UK just have a real fetish for this topic because Brits are obsessed with this kind of thing (the panic buying at the start of Covid was insane...even then, there were no real shortages but Brits love this kind of thing).

MattPalmer1086• 5 years ago

I guess it's unevenly distributed. I see daily shortages of fresh produce and empty shelves in my local Waitrose. Been like that for a while now.

I have also noticed a reduction in choice. They'll have something in a category of food, but there would previously have been 3 or 4 different options. Now just the one.

ampgt• 5 years ago

Expat living in the UK here.

One of the first things I had trouble finding here was good pizza. I tried everything in the town I live in and couldn’t find something to satisfy the craving (I even resorted to Pizza Hut and Papa John’s just hoping for a little bit of America). I ended up finding a refrigerated (not frozen) pizza in waitrose (grocery store) and I fell in love. Seriously, it’s relatively healthy and absolutely delicious. Whenever I have a pizza urge I walk up to my local waitrose to get one. Well, in the last 2-3 months I haven’t been able to get my hands on one. Every time I go in the pizza section has less in it and never has the one I want. I’ve tried going different days and times. At first I thought I was unlucky, but I’m noticing it more (especially with minced Turkey). Can’t help but think this is related.

Also…I also live out in the Dale’s… I’ve noticed farmers have a lot more cows than lambs. Which is strange. I haven’t seen a cow out here in the last 5 years, now they are EVERYWHERE. Slowly starting to put it all together and realize that these are probably effects of Brexit and covid. Hopefully it doesn’t get any worse than preventing a grumpy American from finding some good pizza and enjoying lambs frolicking in some pastures :)

prawn3• 5 years ago

Can’t tell if that’s a sheep-voting-for-Brexit joke.

thatfrenchguy• 5 years ago

You know you can make pizza yourself right? It’s really not hard with a bread maker

CodeGlitch2• 5 years ago

Some super markets sell frozen dough, which you can defrost in 4 hours or so. It honestly makes the best pizza I have tasted.

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/307157650

nso95• 5 years ago

Permanent? Nonsense

Andys• 5 years ago

"Ongoing" is probably a better a word

prawn3• 5 years ago

Sounds like an article pitched by industry lobbyists who could instead just pay more to workers.

mrmrcoleman• 5 years ago

This seems like it shouldn’t have made the front page

kypro• 5 years ago

As someone who voted brexit partly because I was hoping it would tighten the labour market and help people like my dad who have been competing against foreign labour for years could someone explain why this is actually bad? Long-term labour shortages are mostly myths as far as I can tell. If there is a shortage of labour we have two options, pay more to attract workers or import people willing to accept the uncompetitive wage. In recent years we’ve picked the latter, but it seems now businesses are being forced to pay more. I get this might not be great for business growth, but why wouldn’t this be good for “low-skill” workers?

prawn3• 5 years ago

Cheaper for the industry to lobby for many things (like importing labour, etc) before they pay existing workers more?

orwin• 5 years ago

I did not like brexit (Did not have time to visit most of GB before 2021, Covid did not help). But i think you're right, all those shortages make a labor strike ten times as effective. Imagine homecare worker strikes right now? they can double their pay pretty easely i think. Same for HGV drivers, meat processors etc.

The issue is for small businesses. And the fact that NI was basically forgotten by most of the people voting for brexit (and by those making the remain campaign). The pub owner near my place always talk about the Ballymurphy massacre and how his fvourite cousins died there, i suspect him to be ex-IRA. He tells everyone he went back to vote for brexit to make NI people want to join Ireland, and that the effects were better than expected. Not sure if i believe him, but let's agree that the effect of brexit on northern ireland were not thought out.

CodeGlitch2• 5 years ago

We've just flown in 1000s of Afghans, so why not offer then some of those jobs to give them a foot up? Alternately offer higher pay...

ajay-b• 5 years ago

This was bemoaned prior to Brexit, but once again is hyperbole.

UK faces 'permanent' food shortages

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