The ongoing strikes in Calais are continuing to cause chaos on both sides of the Channel. Although trucks are stacked at both Calais and Dover, the lack of deliveries does not yet seem to be affecting the fresh produce supply in the UK.
UK supply not affected, yet
Colin Galbraith from Moorhouse & Mohan: "The only products which I think could be affected by a few days strike would be Dutch salad material, tomatoes , capsicum and cucumbers etc. A lot of other products we are selling are from the Southern Hemisphere in containers which are not affected, we have also started again with many new season UK products such as roots and tubers, and brassicas, which are not affected."
Colin said they are well stocked at the moment, but they would start to be affected if the strike continues into next week.
Likewise, food service supplier Reynolds have been coping well with the situation so far, Andy Weir explains: "We are in the UK summer season so a lot of our produce is British grown. The issue will be if the situation continues. The trucks are all parked up on the roads and the back log is big."
Some ferries are sailing
The MyFerryLink strikers have sporadically allowed boats to leave from Calais again since Wednesday. This happened following a pledge from the French Ministry of Transport to enter into talks with union representatives. Incidentally, that happened after the strikers had threatened to halt railway traffic in the Eurotunnel for 48 hours. Meanwhile, the ramps to the Belgian E40 between Jabbeke and the French border remain closed.
French water for truckers in UK
In the UK angry truckers are threatening to riot if the situation with the traffic jam on the approach to the tunnel doesn't change fast. Along with the rising temperatures, the length of the traffic jam is increasing. It had reached 38 kilometres by Wednesday afternoon. One anonymous trucker complained to British newspaper The Mirror that the English authorities are abandoning him and 3000 colleagues. "The Red Cross came to hand out 200 bottles of water for 3000 people. It's like a Third World country here." The Red Cross, meanwhile is getting assistance from the Coastguard and the authorities in Kent. In addition to water, snacks and mobile toilets are also being provided. Ironically, the water came from French spring water companies. When the strike will end is still unknown.
Dark chapter
Dutch company, DailyFresh Logistics also halted its supplies to the United Kingdom for the time being. According to Maaike de Vries, the situation at Calais is outright terrible. "This is a dark chapter in the history of DailyFresh Logistics. Our drivers haven't gone to Calais in days. The drivers are just lining up in a traffic jam of 2500 trucks waiting to cross. The ferries can't handle the large amount of trucks." According to Maaike, it's still hard to say what the cost of the stoppages will be: "The past day, around a third of our daily trade hasn't arrived in England. The costs are now starting to sky-rocket, and we're holding our breath to see what the total damage will be."
Daily Fresh are not the only company not loading for the UK, most will not load until they can guarantee a place on a ferry across the Channel.
