Christmas shortages warning from Welsh retailers

One supermarket chain is using extra freezers to make sure there are enough turkeys for Christmas, as shop owners warn of potential shortages this year.

Shoppers in Wales have already seen some empty shelves which has been blamed on a lack of lorry drivers.

Now, some business owners are warning supply and delivery issues could affect Christmas stock.

Matthew Hunt, of Filco Foods supermarkets, said he expected to see higher prices this winter.

He urged shoppers to get orders in early.

"At this stage turkey could be a concern so we've powered up our freezers, so if we're not able to offer a fresh bird we'll be able to offer a frozen one instead," he said.

Sharon Flanagan, who co-owns homeware shop No 39 in Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, said despite putting her order in for Christmas stock in February, it would not now arrive until late November.

"We were hoping to introduce Christmas stock earlier this year after the lockdown last year and it's a disaster," she said.

"It's eight weeks we won't be able to trade on Christmas stock, so if you were hoping to come in October to pick something up for Christmas, it's not going to be here."

In Porthmadog, Gwynedd, Jolene Barton, director of online toy retailer Babi Pur, said shoppers might need to be "a bit more open-minded this Christmas".

"There's plenty of things to go around, it's just maybe you won't get exactly what you'd hoped for."

Ms Barton also said changes following Brexit could add to the disruption: "There are a lot of extra costs, extra charges, problems with deliveries that have to be paid for. We can't keep absorbing those costs.

"I don't think retailers will be able to keep the costs down."

Kieren Clarke-Hill and his wife have already done most of their Christmas present shopping, having started in September.

He said: "This year, with Covid, and you know something else is going to happen down the line, we like to be a little bit cautious and thought why not."

Victoria Jones said she was not "overly concerned" about any potential shortages.

"We've gotten used to learning how to be content and survive anyway, so if we can survive a pandemic, we can survive a few shortages."

You can see more about this story in Wales Live on the BBC iPlayer