TOYS and other goods will be in short supply at Christmas owing to a logjam at British ports.
Disruption to international shipping from Asia owing to the pandemic and stockpiling ahead of Brexit have caused the bottleneck.
At the same time, freight lorries between the UK and Europe are facing delays at the Eurotunnel and Port of Dover.
Felixstowe port has been clogged for weeks and delays have now spread to Southampton. It has been made worse by high seasonal demand and large shipments of PPE.
Ships have been diverted to Rotterdam in the Netherlands and their cargo is likely to miss the Christmas season.
Imported goods affected vary from toys to car parts and even screws, prompting fears of price rises.
Andrew Opie of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Retailers now face higher costs than ever before, with some seeing 25 per cent week-on-week rises for shipping.”
And Natasha Crookes, of the British Toy and Hobby Association, added: “We would recommend parents buy toys as they see them available, as stock shortages are difficult to manage this Christmas.”
There were long tailbacks of lorries at Dover and the Eurotunnel yesterday for the second day in a row.
A Eurotunnel spokesman said: “It is the sheer volume of traffic from stockpiling, pre-Christmas build-up and transporting medical supplies and vaccines for Covid care.”
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