The UK is facing a food crisis as the number of empty shelves at supermarkets has increased by 50% in just two years.

The UK is facing a food crisis as the number of empty shelves at supermarkets has increased by 50% in just two years. The National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN) has said that it is “inundated” with reports from shopkeepers who say they are running out of stock. The NFRN said that it had recorded a 50% increase in empty shelves since 2017, with shops reporting that they were “completely out” of items such as fruit and vegetables, meat and fish.

The NFRN says that its members have reported problems with deliveries, saying that some suppliers are not keeping up with demand. It says that there are “simply not enough drivers” to deliver goods to shops across the country. This could be due to the ongoing Brexit uncertainty, which has led to a fall in the value of sterling, making imports more expensive.

Brexit uncertainty may also be behind empty supermarket shelves

How many food products have been imported from Europe?

A large proportion of food products sold in British supermarkets come from European countries such as France and Germany. With the Brexit deadline fast approaching on October 31st, there is increasing concern about how this will affect supplies into Britain.