UK's leading supermarket warns of price rise amid supply chain crisis

Supermarket Morrison has warned that prices will rise across the retail industry, stated recent reports, as the supermarket giant claimed on Thursday (9) that Britain’s supply chain is creaking, causing continuing product availability issues.

The sustained inflation may continue for the rest of this year, Morrisons’ spokesperson said, adding that higher raw material prices and freight charges have led to “slight inflation” and the company will look for ways to mitigate this rather than pass it on to consumers.

The UK supermarket chain- the current target of competing takeover offers from Fortress Investment Group and Clayton, Dubilier and Rice (CDR)- cited the “sustained recent commodity price increases and freight inflation and the current shortage of HGV drivers” as contributing factors.

“That combination of a dearth of labour, a dearth of skills, the pingdemic and Covid does mean that everywhere in the supply chain there is strain,” chief executive David Potts said today after the group published first-half results.

He emphasised that the firm had experienced some shortages of water, carbonates, juice, crisps, pet food and wine, saying “we’ve still got pop to choose from, it’s just not as wide a range as it was”.

Nevertheless, he expressed confidence over its most important season ahead, declaring: "Christmas is going to be biblical".