A recent survey shows that than 60% of shoppers expect there to be food shortages as a result of Brexit. A survey of 1,000 consumers conducted by shopper insight agency Him found 14% of shoppers had already begun stockpiling with 10 weeks to go until the initial 31 October deadline.
Fruit and Veg is the category with the biggest concern, with 41% of consumers who believe there will be shortages expecting fresh produce to be affected. Close behind was meat with 28%, over-the-counter medicine with 25%, and fish with 23%.
In addition, 30% of consumers plan to stockpile products ahead of the Brexit deadline, with tinned foods (17%), frozen foods (11%) and over-the-counter medication (10%) the most popular categories.
The research reveals 43% of consumers believe Brexit provides an opportunity for supermarkets to stock more British products, 42% believe that there are enough countries around the world that want to trade with the UK, so food shortages will not happen any time soon and 39% believe reports around food shortages are just trying to scare consumers.
Meanwhile, UK parliamentarians approved a bill to delay Brexit this week. Members voted against a no-deal Brexit for the third time, in effect extending the deadline to withdraw from the European Union past October 31 and likely into 2020.
