LONDON: Bosses at top supermarkets and food chains on Monday urged British lawmakers to avoid a no-deal Brexit or risk reducing the availability of many products.

On the eve of parliament’s vote on unlocking the Brexit impasse, 10 food chiefs plus industry body the British Retail Consortium (BRC) called on MPs to work “urgently to find a solution that avoids the shock of a no-deal Brexit on March 29 and removes ... risks for UK consumers.

“We anticipate significant risks to maintaining the choice, quality and durability of food that our customers have come to expect in our stores, and there will be inevitable pressure on food prices from higher transport costs, currency devaluation and tariffs,” they said in a letter to MPs. “We are extremely concerned that our customers will be among the first to experience the realities of a no-deal Brexit,” they added.

The letter was signed by supermarkets Asda, Co-op, Costcutter, Lidl, Sainsbury and Waitrose, as well as food retailer Marks & Spencer joined KFC, McDonald’s and sandwich chain Pret A Manger. However, it was not signed by Britain’s biggest retailer Tesco nor German discounter Aldi.

“On behalf of our businesses and the wider food industry we want to highlight to you the challenges for retailers and the consequences for millions of UK consumers of leaving the Eur­­­opean Union without a deal at the end of March,” the letter said.

“While we have been working closely with our suppliers on contingency plans it is not possible to mitigate all the risks to our supply chains and we fear significant disruption in the short term as a result if there is no Brexit deal.”

Almost one third of the food consumed in the UK comes from the European Union, they stressed.

“In March the situation is more acute as UK produce is out of season: 90 per cent of our lettuces, 80 per cent of our tomatoes and 70 per cent of our soft fruit is sourced from the EU at that time of year. As this produce is fresh and perishable, it needs to be moved quickly from farms to our stores.

“This complex, ‘just in time’ supply chain will be significantly disrupted in the event of no deal,” the letter added.

After British MPs overwhelmingly rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal earlier this month, they will vote again on Tuesday (today) on what they want her to do next as the March 29 departure deadline looms.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2019