Eurostar reports business as normal albeit short delays and forecasted rice flour shortages due to market lockdown
However, he said Eurostar continues to source its range of flours from Northern Italy and other European countries.
The family-run Yorkshire business supplies over 10,000 tonnes of product to the UK and Europe annually, including Italian pizza flours; vegetable flours; gluten-free and chapati flours; pasta; and various types of rice.
“We have seen a huge increase in demand and are continuing to import stock from Italy and Europe as normal with minimal delays,” said Bull.
“In spite of extremely difficult conditions we are happy to confirm that we have a good and solid supply of Italian ingredients coming in directly from Northern Italy, and we continue to source our high quality flours and rice from other European countries.”
Logistic challenges
He did concede Eurostar was experiencing some challenges in terms of logistic complexity – a situation that is changing all the time.
“We endeavour to deliver all goods on time as normal, and while many products are unaffected, some customers may experience short delays due to lack of transport availability caused by the lockdown and self-isolation measures in place.”
Bull noted the markets in India, Pakistan and the Far East are closed, which has resulted in restricted stock movement and could lead to rice and rice flour shortages.
“We expect to see shortages of certain types of rice in the European market in the future, which in turn could lead to shortages of rice flour,” he said.
“As a family business our first thoughts are with the safety of our workforce and their families, and for that of all the businesses we work with all over the world.
“We are following the government’s health and safety guidelines, protecting all staff and running a reduced but sufficient workforce at our distribution hub. Those that can work from home are doing so.”
