Retail Chiefs Slam Gove's Fresh Food Claims

Local retail representatives have dismissed Michael Gove's claims that fresh food supplies would be unaffected in a no-deal Brexit.

The minister, who is responsible for the Government's no-deal preparations, said, "there will be no shortages of fresh food" if the UK crashes out without a deal on 31 October.

Appearing on The Andrew Marr Show, Mr Gove also remarked that prices could go up, but would also come down.

Director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, Aodhán Connolly said the statements were "categorically untrue".

He said: "The NIRC's own assessment has shown that soft fruits and vegetables, such as strawberries, tomatoes and lettuces, would likely see reduced availability as they are largely imported during the winter months. What he has said this morning bears no relationship to what our members and suppliers are telling us.

"While retailers continue to work with their suppliers to maintain stocks of non-perishable goods and plan ahead for any disruption caused by a no deal Brexit, it is impossible to mitigate it fully as neither retailers nor consumers can stockpile fresh foods. The reality remains that a no deal Brexit in October would present the worst of all worlds for our high streets and those who shop there. Retailers will be preparing for Christmas, stretching already limited warehousing capacity, and the UK will be importing the majority of its fresh food from the EU, magnifying the impact of border delays.

"With households in Northern Ireland having half of the discretionary income of Great British households not only will availability be an issue but we will feel the cost rises first and hardest."

Mr Connolly's comments were further reinforced by Glyn Roberts, Chief Executive of Retail NI, who stressed the need for a withdrawal deal: "The Minister is mistaken in his assertion that there will be no shortage of fresh food. We agree with our NIRC colleagues that lettuce, tomatoes, soft fruit and other fresh produce will face significant delays in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

"Any delay to our 'just in time' supply chain will have huge implications for suppliers, retailers and the logistic sectors in Northern Ireland.

"This does not just include large supermarkets; this will impact on local convenience and family-run fruit and veg stores in every village, town and city in Northern Ireland.

"A withdrawal deal is essential to avoid the economic disaster of crashing out of the EU on 31st October."



(JG/MH)