Retailers and food and drinks companies have called for MPs to launch an urgent inquiry into disruption at British ports, with delays to goods deliveries possibly set to last for months.
The delays mean consumers may have to pay higher Christmas prices and companies may be unable to build up stockpiles of goods to see them through Brexit disruption, the retail and food and drinks industry warned, in a letter to the chairs of parliament’s transport and international trade committees.
The cost of importing goods has rocketed in recent weeks after the pandemic knocked demand and production around the world out of sync. Shipping executives have reported shortages of containers in China, pushing up prices just as British companies build up Brexit stockpiles.