Wales food shortages ‘among worst in UK’

• One in five people in Wales were unable to access essential food items in the last fortnight
• Wales has the worst medicine shortages in the UK, with double the shortages of the average household 
• Nearly a quarter of people could not access fuel for their vehicles in the past two weeks

Food shortages in Wales are the second worst in the UK, new research can reveal.

One in five residents of Wales were unable were unable to purchase essential foods in the past two weeks – an increase of nearly 30 percent from the previous fortnight. The research also found that one in ten Welsh households could not access non-essential foods, and a third of residents reported that there was less variety of goods in the shops than usual.

The research, conducted by online delivery experts Next Day Delivery, used new ONS data on goods shortages between the 6^th and the 17^th October to discover the percentage of people in the UK who were unable to access essential food, fuel and medicine in the past fortnight.

Medicine shortages in Wales were the worst in the UK, with 6 percent of households unable to access medicine – double the national average. Food shortages in Wales were also 46 percent higher than the national average in the past two weeks, second only to London.

On a national level, one in six people in the UK struggled to buy essential food items in the last fortnight, and two in five motorists (37 percent) could not buy petrol for their vehicles.

London was the region with the worst food shortages in the UK, with one in four to purchase essential food. The South East was next on the list, with one in six residents unable to access food. The North East, the East of England and the South West also saw some of the biggest shortages in the country, with fifteen percent of residents in those regions struggling to buy food they needed in the past fortnight.

The data also revealed that nearly a quarter of motorists in Wales (24 percent) were unable to purchase petrol for their vehicles in the previous two weeks, due to fuel shortages. The South East saw the worst fuel shortages in the entire country, with over half of residents unable to buy fuel, followed by the East of England, where 49 percent of people were unable to purchase fuel.

Experience of goods shortages by UK region

A spokesperson for Next Day Delivery, which conducted the study, said:

“With the country facing significant delays in the delivery of food and other essentials, the experiences of families in the UK – particularly in areas like Wales, where food shortages are hitting hardest – give us a clear picture of how the situation is impacting our everyday lives. With Christmas approaching, the pressure will be on to resolve the various supply chain issues (including driver vacancies and CO2 shortages) so that warehouses can remain stocked and consumers can purchase the essential products they need”.

Further Information can be found here: https://www.nextdaydelivery.co.uk/