Wholesalers at Western International Market say ongoing protests against fuel tax rises across France have caused some consignments to be delayed.
Anger over President Emmanuel Macron’s fuel tax hike, scheduled to start in January, sparked national strikes and protests across France last week, causing the deaths of two people and injuries to over 600. Riots broke out in Paris on the weekend after 100,000 people took to the streets to protest the levy.
Namedgilets jaunes,after the yellow vests worn by many in industrial and transport work, protesters blockaded roads and fuel depots across the country in a bid to overturn Macron’s tax hike. The French president described protesters as “thugs”, and has refused to cave in to their demands.
In response to the situation the FTA advised drivers operating in France “to be very careful”. They stated: “Trucks have been caught in illegal road blocks, with dangerous objects being placed on the road by protesters, and two drivers have been victims of attacks with broken windows. Drivers are advised to be particularly vigilant as stowaway attempts have been reported amid this chaotic situation.”
Despite the severity of the protests, it seems that it has not had a significant effect on fresh produce importsinto the UK, with minor delays reported by wholesalers. Rob Taylor of W.J. Holliman said: “It’s affected us to a degree. Some imports have been unavailable. But we managed to get them in and demand is quite low at the moment, prices have been a bit low.”
Ali Abrar, at Owen Owen, said: “It’s affected the transport. Last week most of the deliveries were one day late, and not same-day delivery. The importers have said ‘we are really struggling with the transport’ but it’s not bad at the moment. It’s been going on more than a week but it’s nothing major.
Indo Lanka Imports’ Guru Subramanian echoed Taylor’s assessment that a quiet market has offset the delays of consignments. “It’s not been really bad, a few days ago there were delays. But the market is quiet so it hasn’t affected us too bad.”
