Trade at UK wholesale markets has been hit severely by the rioting and looting gripping some of the nation’s largest cities.
Birmingham’s market was forced to close temporarily and trade at London markets fell considerably.
Violence and looting has been widespread throughout the capital last night before spreading to other cities.
Birmingham’s Pershore Street market, situated near some of the city’s worst flashpoints, closed its gates for two hours from midnight while chaos ensued outside, affecting deliveries into the site.
But Birmingham Wholesale Fresh Produce Association head Mark Tate praised the police for going in “hard and early” and stamping out most of the violence by 1am.
Trade at east London-based New Spitalfields has been affected by a substantial downturn in custom from street traders.
Looting took place on the trading estate on which Western International is situated and business on the market is quiet, according to the market’s business development manager Peter Clarke.
Spitalfields Market Tenants' Association chief executive Janet Hutchinson told freshinfo: “The market is very quiet and there’s a nervous atmosphere. It puts into perspective how much of our trade is from the retail market traders.
“Some customers could not get through because of road blocks and were turned away. Some do not have markets to go back to; Walthamstow market is closed. Thankfully, I doubt the looters know where we are but we would have to call the police as we have private security.”
The National Association of British Market Authorities’ CEO Graham Wilson urged the police to restore order as quickly as possible to help trade get back to normal.
The supermarkets have also been hit hard, with numerous reports of looting and vandalism on individual stores. Aldi, Sainsbury's and Tescowere affected and large numbers of stores closed early last night.
Sainsbury's said in a statement on Wednesday: "As of 6pm last night, as a result of police advice and as a precaution, we closed most of our stores within the M25. Half a dozen stores were affected overnight but only experienced minimal damage. All stores have opened this morning and are trading as usual.
"We will closely monitor the situation throughout the day as we did yesterday."
New Covent Garden and Manchester wholesale markets are reportedly unaffected and authorities at all the major wholesale markets are confident that looting is unlikely to occur due to the relatively low value of individual fresh produce.
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) is feeding information through government contacts to its Cobra mission and has urged retailers to take simple steps to protect themselves, their staff and their businesses.
These include monitoring police advice, working closely with other retailers, travelling quickly and in many cases, closing up all together.
ACS CEO James Lowman said: "The images of local community stores being looted and destroyed by violent criminals are sickening. Most urban areas in London and elsewhere are safe and will remain so, but retailers need to keep in contact with each other and local people to get the earliest warning of any impending problems. People are more important than property. Retailers’ first concern must be to protect themselves and their staff.”
