Food shortages unlikely but Brexit could compound freight challenges

Confirmation of a new variant of Covid-19 in Britain over the weekend led to as many as 250 Irish truck drivers being stranded in the UK, after French authorities issued a 48-hour ban on the movement of freight from Sunday night.

The overnight chaos caused by the closure of French borders to UK freight is unlikely to lead to food shortages in Ireland, but has raised fears that further chaos could follow in the new year unless more shipping capacity and direct routes from Ireland to mainland Europe are secured.

Confirmation of a new variant of Covid-19 in Britain over the weekend led to as many as 250 Irish truck drivers being stranded in the UK after French authorities issued a 48-hour ban on the movement of freight from Sunday night.