British food supply is tight, supermarket shelves emptied, government urges people not to panic

　　China News Service, September 24. According to foreign media reports, affected by the increase in natural gas prices and labor shortages, food supplies in the UK have been tight, and beverage shelves in some supermarkets have even been sold out.

British officials called on the 23rd that consumers do not need to panic shopping.

　　According to reports, Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket company, told the government last week that if measures are not taken as soon as possible, the shortage of truck drivers will lead to tight supply before Christmas and trigger panic shopping.

　　Drink shelves in supermarkets in some British cities have been sold out, and turkey suppliers have also issued warnings that if the carbon dioxide shortage is not resolved, the British may not be able to eat traditional roast turkey this Christmas.

On September 22, a beverage shelf in a British supermarket.

Image source: Screenshot of Reuters report.

　　To this end, the British government's consumer affairs minister Paul Scully issued an appeal on the 23rd, stating that consumers do not need to panic shopping and that the country will not return to the winter of the 1970s.

The strikes and power outages that year put the British economy in trouble.

　　According to the analysis, the European natural gas price increase has had an impact on the UK's energy, chemical and steel industries, and the labor shortage caused by Brexit has put heavy pressure on the supply chain.

Coupled with the impact of the epidemic, related vocational training has basically come to a standstill.

　　The All-British Farmers’ Federation wrote to British Prime Minister Johnson, urging him to introduce a new visa system as soon as possible to deal with the domestic labor shortage.

Earlier this month, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) also urged the government to relax immigration rules and allow more foreign workers to enter the UK.

　　In addition to rising natural gas prices and labor shortages, insufficient carbon dioxide supply has also exacerbated the tight supply in supermarkets.

The aquaculture, beverage manufacturing, and food preservation packaging are all inseparable from carbon dioxide, but due to the impact of rising energy prices, many companies have stopped or reduced the production of carbon dioxide for food.