Finance Monthly - November 2021 Edition

34 Finance Monthly. Bus i ne s s & Economy According to Grant Thorton, 1.3 million foreign-born workers had left the UK since the beginning of the pandemic and are yet to return. The Impact of the Pandemic on the UK’s Supply Chain However, as the supply chain crisis spread to petrol stations up and down the country, transport secretary Grant Shapps dismissed claims that Brexit was at the root of the problem. He insisted that coronavirus was to blame and said that the shortage of lorry drivers in the country was due to the fact that 40,000 HGV driving tests could not take place because of the pandemic. There have also been ongoing COVID- related restrictions in some large manufacturing countries such as Vietnam, with Hanoi continuing its strict lockdown measures across 10 districts in early September. Furthermore, it appears that the pandemic has not only limited the supply of some goods but has simultaneously had the effect of pushing up consumer demand. Flavio Romero Macu, a supply chain expert at Edith Cowan University, says that huge pent- up consumer demand in the wake of the pandemic has added to the strain on the world’s fragile economic ecosystem. “Consumers are crazy to buy things because the world is awash with dollars from government stimulus, higher savings and pent- up demand. PlayStations, laptops, phones, gym equipment – you name it people are trying to buy it,” he says. “Many industry bosses are blaming Brexit for the crisis, claiming that there’s a substantial lack of British workers filling the gaps left by Brexit in the haulage industry, hospitality industry, warehousing, and the meat production sector.”