Christmas spirits dampened in UK as 49 businesses complain alcohol & HGV driver shortages

Ahead of Christmas and other festivities, United Kingdom's drinks trade body has written to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) stating the surge in costs and chaos in the alcohol supply chain holding up deliveries. With Britain facing a dearth of alcohol and spirits, all may not be jolly this season after all.

The letter is co-signed by 49 firms who have raised objections to disruption to the supply of alcohol which is taking up to five times longer than the previous Christmas. UK's wine and spirits industry has signalled a warning and the government needs to brace up to address the lack of heavy goods vehicle drivers, AP reported.

49 UK firms write to transport minister over alcohol shortage & HGV driver shortfall

The Wine and Spirit Trade Association told AP that 49 entities have tabled their names to transport minister Grant Shapps, urging him to redress the rising scarcity and take urgent actions over heavy goods vehicle (HGV) driver shortages and destabilised freight.

"There is mounting concern amongst our membership that unless urgent action is taken, we will fall deeper into delivery chaos," WSTA CEO Miles Beale told AP.

"We are already seeing major delays on wine and spirit delivery times which is pushing up costs and limiting the range of products available to UK consumers," he added.

Freight costs in Britain surge by 7% ahead of Christmas season

It was brought to the fore that WSTA's members had reported that importing products was prolonged and delayed up to five times. Businesses that previously took two to three days to ship consignments were taking 15 days to process and fulfil orders currently. Also, firms were compelled to raise the incomes of HGV drivers to retain them amid festive seasons which in turn multiplied the freight cost by 7%.

Despite the UK government snubbing any disruption to the supply of alcohol this Christmas, a government official said, "The government acted quickly to tackle the challenges to our supply chains, which were brought on by global pressures including the pandemic and the international shortage of HGV drivers."