Shoppers faced with gaps on shelves as supermarkets battle with Brexit red tape

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Shoppers have been faced with gaps on supermarket shelves as retailers and suppliers grapple with Brexit red tape and staff absences due to Covid-19. Recommended All four big UK supermarkets now ban shoppers without masks It emailed customers to tell then that there may be “an increase of missing items and substitutions over the next few weeks”. A spokesperson for the company said: “Staff absences across the supply chain may lead to an increase in product substitutions for a small number of customers as some suppliers consolidate their offering to maintain output.” Dmitry Grozoubinski, founder of consultancy ExplainTrade, told The Independent that after a period of disruption, major retailers and their suppliers would resolve the problems and stocks would be replenished. “At the same time, businesses are worried about what’s going to happen at the border so they're staying away and not providing freight services to the UK.” Problems with border bureaucracy have been solved all around the world but companies need to go through a “learning process” in the UK context, he said.