Some products coming from the UK might be scarce at the Rungis wholesale market in Paris after Christmas due to truck delivery delays resulting from the border closure, a spokesperson told Undercurrent News.
However, for the Christmas week, French wholesalers in the Marche International de Rungis — the largest wholesale food market in the world — are well stocked.
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“The French will not lack festive products for the holidays, and Christmas in particular, because our wholesalers are always preparing in advance. They have already had time to import a large share of products,” a spokesperson from the Rungis market told Undercurrent on Dec. 23.
“Nevertheless, some fresh products may be scarce on the market, especially after Christmas, due to a lack of supply, such as scallops, blue lobsters and Scottish salmon. Some will be sold frozen, such as langoustines,” she pointed out.
Supply from the UK represents only a small part of the market’s total activity. “For the time being, our wholesalers are waiting for the authorities to communicate so that they can organize themselves accordingly,” she said.
“Some carriers reacted as soon as the government measures were announced and turned back before being blocked in the UK,” she added.
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On Dec. 23, France started to let traffic from the UK back in after the nations reached an agreement over their shared border, which had been closed on the evening of Dec. 21 amid concerns over a new coronavirus variant, BBC reported.
Freight drivers and some passengers, including EU citizens, will be among those allowed to return, but only if they have a recent negative test for the virus. Some 2,850 lorries have been stuck in Kent since the border originally closed.
In the meantime, the UK and the EU are closing in on a post-Brexit trade agreement after months of fraught negotiations, with a deal expected to be announced later on Dec. 24.
