SUPPLIES:POPULAR CEREAL products such as Corn Flakes and Rice Krispies may be in short supply because of delivery problems caused by the bad weather, a leading retailer has warned.
Cereal manufacturer Kellogg’s confirmed yesterday it was facing “significant challenges” in obtaining supplies for the Irish market after its main warehouse in Manchester was snowed-in.
However, a spokeswoman denied there were shortages on supermarket shelves and said fresh deliveries were expected into Ireland at the weekend.
Generally, retailers say supplies of food are being successfully delivered from Britain and into individual shops, although there have been delays with the cold spell.
Superquinn said it had not experienced much disruption as a result of the bad weather, but a spokeswoman noted most of the goods were sourced from Irish suppliers and would not be affected yet by adverse conditions in Britain.
“There may be an issue with availability of some breakfast cereal products which we source from Britain, due to the company’s manufacturing plant being located in Manchester, an area very heavily hit by bad weather,” she said.
Products such as salt used to treat ice and cat litter were also proving difficult to source because of high demand. Superquinn’s sales of salt have tripled compared to last year.
A spokeswoman for Kellogg’s said a contingency plan had been put in place after its Manchester supply base was hit by snow. Snow ploughs had been used and extra staff employed to reopen the supply line. It was anticipated that planned weekend deliveries would arrive on schedule.
The spokeswoman said new year was an important time for the cereals business because people tended to eat more breakfast as part of a resolution. Sales were down this year, either because of the weather or the recession.
Tesco said deliveries from Britain were coming in a bit late but were making it across the Irish Sea. “Things are fairly normal but the situation remains fluid,” a spokesman said. Both of Tesco’s Irish depots, at Ballymun and Donabate, were operating normally.
Marks Spencer, which imports much of its produce from Britain, said it had “no issue” and fresh supplies had arrived yesterday. German-owned Aldi, which also imports heavily through Britain, refused to comment.