Tesco warns of ‘panic buying’ and ‘five per cent rise’ in food prices

Tesco has warned “panic buying” among shoppers in the lead up to Christmas due to empty supermarket shelves owing to reported acute heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers shortage causing disruption in supply chain.

Andrew Woolfenden, Tesco’s head of distribution and fulfilment in the UK, has told a cabinet office meeting held recently that “pictures of empty shelves will get 10 times worse by Christmas and then we’ll see panic buying”, stated reports today (23).

The UK’s biggest grocer also reportedly told the government that it has a shortfall of 800 drivers.

The Road Haulage Association has warned that there is a shortage of around 100,000 drivers across the UK, which has particularly impacted the food and drink supply chain.

Industry groups, including Logistics UK and the British Retail Consortium, have been calling on the government to provide temporary UK visas to EU truck drivers to help address the issue, while the CBI has warned that a failure to act quickly could put the post-pandemic recovery at risk.

While the government has asked firms to invest in domestic workers, Tesco also now has seemingly joined a chorus of businesses calling on ministers to make it easier to recruit staff from abroad to fill the gap. 

Woolfenden told cabinet officials that attempts to recruit people from the same pool of drivers in the UK was like “moving deck chairs around,” according to comments first reported by ITV.

Tesco has also warned Britons of rise in the food prices very soon.

Speaking to ITV on Wednesday (22), the supermarket’s chairman John Allan said Britons should expect a five percent rise in food prices very soon, owing to acute lorry drivers and CO2 shortages which has created a perfect storm of issues.

Allan said efforts are being made to avert a “horrendous crisis at Christmas”. 

“I think it’s almost impossible to forecast, but I mean I think we’re probably looking at, for food overall, you know, mid-single digit increases which is much higher than we’ve had in recent years,” he said referring to the food prices.

Meanwhile, a government spokesperson said: “We recognise business is facing a range of challenges and we are taking steps to support them, including streamlining the process for new HGV drivers and increasing the number of driving tests.

“Progress has already been made in testing and hiring, with improving pay, working conditions and diversity. We are closely monitoring labour supply and working with sector leaders to understand how we can best ease particular pinch points.”