Flight ban threat to stocks of fruit and vegetables

THE ban on flights into the UK could hit stocks on supermarket shelves if it lasts as long as some experts predict.

Shoppers have been warned that imported fresh fruit and vegetables could soon be in short supply.

Christopher Snelling, head of global supply chain policy for the Freight Transport Association (FTA), said the flight restrictions could soon impact on supplies.

Yesterday Snelling said: "The question now is what happens on Monday, a full business day – will there be the ability to start moving things again then?

"There are no shortages yet, but we may start to see certain ranges affected if this carries on.

"It won't be so bad if we can get some airspace back in continental Europe, because the industry is used to moving produce by truck from places such as Amsterdam.

"There will definitely be backlogs. Even if we get back to normal soon, there will be a couple of weeks of disruption while things are sorted out."

Snelling said the longer UK airspace was closed, the greater the damage would be – not just to British businesses but also for farmers in the developing countries who rely on exporting their produce to Europe.

"Their livelihoods are in serious jeopardy," he said. The FTA added that with goods such as fresh produce and pharmaceuticals reliant on air freight, the impact could be widespread.

Although air freight is responsible for moving less than 1 per cent of goods, which are as diverse as mobile phone Sim cards and Kenyan green beans, by volume this represents a quarter of the overall value.

Many of these goods, such as vaccines and fresh produce, have a limited shelf life and it is here the FTA is expecting the most disruption.

Yesterday supermarkets reported minimal problems.

A Waitrose spokesman said supplies of a "handful" of lines had been affected, including fresh pineapple chunks from Ghana and baby sweetcorn from Thailand.

But an Asda spokeswoman said: "It hasn't affected us at all really. We imagine if it carries on past this weekend some things like exotic fruits may be affected."

A Marks & Spencer spokesman said: "Some fruit, veg and flower lines do arrive by air. At this stage we are not expecting any supply problems."

Morrisons said it did not think the flight restrictions would have a significant effect.

"All of our fresh meat and fresh produce is British," a spokeswoman said.

A Sainsbury's spokesman said: "As we have a strong British sourcing policy, our reliance on imported products is lower than that of many other retailers."

A Tesco spokesman said fewer than one per cent of their products were air-freighted.

"Those that are include orchids, chillies and some exotic fruit," he said.