SCOTTISH industry leaders have warned the UK Government it must act urgently to address a lorry driver crisis, with fears over increasing food shortages and price rises in the coming months.

A nationwide lack of HGV drivers means retailers and suppliers are struggling to transport goods around the UK, with the Road Haulage Association estimating a shortage of up to 100,000 roles.

The issue is leading to gaps on shelves for products ranging from fresh food and soft drinks to confectionery and beer. Last week sweets manufacturer Haribo said it was struggling to get stocks to stores.

Representatives from the food industry in Scotland say the UK Government is failing to recognise the scale of the problem, partly caused by Brexit.

Colin Smith, inset, chief executive of the Scottish Wholesale Association, said he believed the problem would get “worse before it gets better”.

He said issues had been “brewing for years”, with an ageing population of drivers, but it had been made worse by EU nationals going home after Brexit and the impact of Covid.

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“We have now had the re-opening of hospitality and the school holidays in Scotland,” he said.

“We have suddenly had this surge in demand for goods, that has not been able to be matched by the supply chain because we have not got the drivers – but equally we have not necessarily got the ingredients.

“So ingredients coming into the manufacturing plants are in short supply because of delays in flour deliveries or whatever it might be.

“There are also problems with packaging, which is dispersed all over the world at this point. There are containers in all the wrong places, which is again an initial result of Covid back in March last year. So that is going to take a while.”

Smith said demand would only increase further with “Freedom Day” coming up in England, school holidays and workers going back into offices in the coming months.

Competition to get sufficient numbers of haulage drivers is said to be driving up costs, leading to increasing food prices for consumers.

The UK Government has pledged extra resources for HGV training and testing, but Smith said there were a number of actions it could take.

This includes a short-term relaxation of limits on driver hours and relaxing new post-Brexit immigration rules to allow foreign drivers to be recruited.

He said: “It is going to get worse before it gets better. All the issues we are facing in terms of the drivers are reserved – we need the UK Government to act.

“They are asking industry to go out and prove that there is problems, they are not accepting they have got the industry leaders sitting at a table and saying there are severe problems.”

He added: “For the Scottish food supply and food security, I would potentially ask any HGV drivers that have just retired or any that are semi-working to come back into the food and drink supply chain to help us just for the next six months to a year.

“We are struggling, we do need to get food moving, so getting people back who have maybe just retired over this last year would be great.”

James Withers, chief executive of industry body Scotland Food & Drink, said it was currently a “perfect storm” for the haulage sector with Covid, Brexit and tax issues all exacerbating labour problems for the industry.  “Without the wheels in our supply chain, things can start going wrong very quickly,” he said.

“We have joined a host of other organisations in the food and drink supply chain in writing the Prime Minister to stress the urgency of the situation.  “Speeding up driver accreditation and a derogation on maximum driving hours will help but won’t go far enough.  “We have lost so many drivers who have returned home to the EU during Covid and post-Brexit.

“A crucial short-term solution would be to introduce a fast-track immigration process for EU drivers that have worked recently in the UK. It could encourage some to return.  “But that requires the UK Government to recognise the scale of the issue.”

Withers said there were also concerns about the availability of seasonal agriculture workers and staff in the food processing sector.

He added: “For a country like Scotland that has large areas, particularly in rural communities, suffering depopulation in the absence of EU immigration, we need a much smarter approach from the Home Office.  “Our sector is willing to invest in its staff and attract a domestic workforce, but talented EU workers have made so many businesses tick over recent years, and in many parts of the country, there just aren’t local people available to replace them.”

Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said there was minor disruption to some supply chains.

“Government must rapidly increase the number of HGV driving tests taking place while also looking for a longer-term solution to this issue,” he added.