The days when supermarket shoppers could expect to pick up whatever they want whenever they want are over, a food industry expert has warned - as he claimed the supply chain crisis will only get 'worse'.
The stark message from Ian Wright, chief executive of the Food and Drink Federation, came as customers continued to share pictures of gaps on shelves and a farmer warned staff shortages were 'killing small businesses'.
Addressing the supply chain issues, Mr Wright said: 'It's going to get worse, and it's not going to get better after getting worse any time soon.'
Speaking to listeners at an event organised by the Institute for Government, he added: 'The result of the labour shortages is that the just-in-time system that has sustained supermarkets, convenience stores and restaurants – so the food has arrived on shelf or in the kitchen, just when you need it – is no longer working.
'And I don't think it will work again, I think we will see we are now in for permanent shortages.'
Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones MBE, who runs the popular Black Farmer food range of farm-sourced products, was among those encountering empty shelves, including yesterday at a Co-Op in Battersea, south-west London
Mr Emmanuel-Jones told MailOnline he had to withdraw product lines because processors were using their limited capacity to process orders for larger rivals
Mr Wright said this doesn't mean the UK's going to run out of food, but higher-margin products would be prioritised by retailers.
'That's a first world problem. Nobody's going to be completely bereft if they can't get bottled water,' he said.
'But what is changing now is that the UK shopper and consumer could have previously have expected just about every product they want to be on a shelf or in the restaurant all the time. That's over, and I don't think it's coming back.'
Mr Wright said that a shortage of lorry drivers is in part due to them moving to online retailers and starting to deliver for Amazon and Tesco.
These jobs often have better hours and pay, he added.
The farm to fork supply chain is missing around half a million of the four million people that usually work in the sector.
Part of this will have come from EU nationals leaving the UK amid the pandemic and Brexit, he said.
