LONDON – The UK was preparing for the possibility of food shortages and production disruption on Monday if France continued to ban the transport of goods and people traveling from Britain in an effort to stop the spread of ‘a new strain of coronavirus.
The move to the entrance of bars from the United Kingdom, announced by Paris on Sunday afternoon, cuts the main British freight link to Europe and closes trade between ports such as Dover and Calais that handle up to 10,000 trucks a day .
The travel ban, initially set for 48 hours, came when a number of countries, including Germany, Canada and Denmark, banned passengers from leaving Britain after British officials said a new, more transmissible coronavirus strain was responsible for an increase in cases in London and the south-east of England.
To combat the spread, UK officials imposed new restrictions on the hardest-hit areas over the weekend, while restricting plans to relax measures for the Christmas period across the country.
Already, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium have confirmed a small number of cases of the new coronavirus strain, called N501Y, which scientists believe may be up to 70% more transmissible than established strains.
Officials from European countries met on Monday to discuss how to respond, while the British government was to hold an emergency meeting amid concerns over the shortage of some shops stemming from the border disruption.
Concerns about the impact of the new coronavirus strain, as well as uncertainty over whether the UK and the European Union would reach a post-Brexit trade deal, weighed heavily on the British pound on Monday. The pound fell 1.8% against the dollar and 1.1% against the euro, after falling to 2.2% against the green dollar, one of its biggest falls since the fall of the March market.
Although several countries during the pandemic have set certain restrictions on travel from Britain and elsewhere (such as mandatory quarantines), goods have always been allowed to move freely in and out of the UK until Sunday evening.
Travel suspensions “could cause serious disruptions in the UK’s Christmas fresh food supplies,” said Ian Wright, chief executive of the British trade group Food and Drink Federation. “Continental truckers won’t want to travel here if they’re afraid to stay.”
France, Israel and Canada are some of the countries that have banned travelers from Britain in an effort to prevent a new highly infectious strain of the coronavirus that is spreading rapidly in England. Photo: Getty Images
J Sainsbury PLC, the second largest grocery chain in the UK, said there could be a shortage of lettuce, some vegetables and citrus in the coming days if a solution cannot be reached.
Following the transfer from France on Sunday, the Port of Dover asked customers for goods and passengers not to travel to its terminals, among the busiest in Britain. Dover is responsible for 20% of global freight transport between the UK and continental Europe.
The UK government warned of a major disruption, while the British media showed images of long setbacks leading to the ports of the southern English.
Eurotunnel,
which operates the railway tunnel connecting Britain and France, also stopped all freight and passenger services.
In a statement, the French embassy in London said on Monday that European leaders would establish health protocols that would ensure that the movement could be resumed from the UK.
“Our priority: to protect our nationals and our fellow citizens,” he said.
However, some companies – particularly in the food and beverage industry – said they had already felt the impact of the French transition, as their products are perishable.
“This is a disaster … trucks loaded with hundreds of thousands of pounds [of shellfish] heading to Dover right now, ”tweeted Loch Fyne Seafarms Ltd., a Scottish seafood company, following a ban on freight transport.
Delays in ports could also have major consequences beyond food chains and food supply. While many manufacturers have component stores in which they can dive for short downtime, some companies work on so-called supply chains just in time where the arrival of parts is closely coordinated with assembly.
This includes volume vehicle manufacturers on both sides of the channel.
Toyota engine Corp.
Prayer, for example, has become accustomed to containing only four hours of parts at the UK car plant and has been based on 50 trucks entering Britain each day to build their vehicles. A three-week strike by French ferry personnel in 2015 disrupted Toyota’s supply for two months, the company had previously informed lawmakers.
Jack Semple, secretary of the UK trade group Engineering and Machinery Alliance, said many manufacturers have stock but that supply chains are so integrated with the rest of Europe that the current disruption is a major concern.
“This concern will increase rapidly if people think this will last more than 48 hours,” he said.
Monday’s disruption comes at an already complicated time for British ports, which were under pressure amid pre-Christmas storage and the UK’s pending departure from the European Union customs union on 1 January, as well as the disruption caused by the pandemic.
A survey of British carriers published on Monday by the Haulage Exchange, which coincides with freight and drivers, found that 96% of respondents said they were unprepared for the transition and needed more clarity on what the legislation would be. border. The UK and the EU are currently negotiating a possible trade deal, but the outcome is uncertain.
Write to Alistair MacDonald to [email protected]
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