Britons are being warned to buy Christmas presents early as a perfect storm of Covid and Brexit strangles supply chains and threatens a shortage of popular gifts and staple foods.
Issues with shipping from Asia means shoppers may be offered a smaller range of products, with demand for best-selling items like Playstation 5s and Barbies threatening to outstrip supply.
Meanwhile, a dearth of workers in the UK means meat processors are already six weeks behind with their preparations - which typically start in July - raising the spectre of labour-intensive items like pigs in blankets not being ready in time.
Some producers are responding by cutting the number of animals they rear for the festive period, with the supply of turkeys set to be 20percent lower than last year, according to the British Poultry Association.
The impact of supply chain shortages is already being felt on the ground, with McDonald's running out of milkshakes and bottled drinks this week, while Nando's and KFC have reported a shortage of chicken.
The supply of popular Christmas products is likely to be hit by domestic labour shortages and issues with global shipping
There have also been some issues with the availability of potatoes, according to catering firm Lynx Purchasing, which said this had been driven by floods in producing countries such as Germany and the Netherlands.
A lack of lorry drivers and food processors is being partly blamed on the new Brexit visa regime introduced on January 1, which penalises lower-skilled migrants in favour of those with qualifications.
But global factors are relevant too, bosses say, including Chinese port closures and a lack of shipping containers. US Vice President Kamala Harris yesterday urged Americans to buy Christmas toys early due to a shortage there.
Nick Allen, chief executive of the British Meat Processors Association, said a labour shortage meant the industry was already 'well behind' on getting ready for Christmas.
He told MailOnline: 'You'd normally start to prepare pigs in blankets and gammons at the beginning of July and they'd go into the freezer and come out at Christmas time, but we're six weeks behind and not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel.
'The shelves aren't going to be empty but it's hard to see how there won't be shortages of these things and the choice will get less.'
Britain has so far been unable to shake its dependency on EU workers who have been leaving due to the pandemic, Mr Allen explained, while the supply of new workers is being held back by stricter visa rules introduced on January 1.
'Covid is one of the reasons why people are going home and not going back again but it fundamentally down to our post-Brexit immigration policy,' he said.
'I try to avoid blaming Brexit - our politicians gave us an immigration policy and it was their choice. With a million job vacancies in the country its night on impossible to fulfil all our needs.'
The most common complaint among UK retailers and food producers is the shortage of lorry drivers, which the Road Haulage Association currently puts at 100,000.
Thousands of prospective drivers are waiting for their HGV tests due to a backlog caused by lockdown, while many existing ones have left the UK after Brexit or to be back with their
