Shoppers are already panic buying frozen turkeys as Christmas shortage looms
As a shortage of turkeys is looming this Christmas, shoppers are already buying frozen turkeys in a bid to avoid any potential disruption to their Christmas dinner, the boss of Tesco has said.
The supermarket giant said it was confident of good product availability for Christmas but there could still be “bumps in the road” amid supply chain challenges affecting the sector.
Tesco praised the “resilience of our supply chain” as it said it has already hired about 15,000 extra temporary staff as part of preparations for Christmas.
Ken Murphy, chief executive of Tesco, said that about 60 per cent of the turkeys it sells each year are frozen but that this is likely to be higher this year.
“We currently have a 10 per cent increase of turkeys and there is noticeably an elevated demand for frozen turkeys,” he said. “We have a resilient supply chain and really good availability levels.”
The retail boss also said the supermarket has reduced its range of certain items, highlighting pasta, in a bid to simplify its supply chain.