(Adds aisles also empty in M&S stores in Belfast, Galway;
Sainsbury's forced to replace some product lines)
By Padraic Halpin
DUBLIN, Jan 6 (Reuters) - British retailer Marks & Spencer
said Britain's withdrawal from European Union trade
rules last week was responsible for near-empty fresh-food aisles
at some of its stores in Ireland on Wednesday.
Aisles selling fruit and vegetables and some fresh pre-made
meals were almost empty at Marks & Spencer stores in Dublin and
Galway. Pictures posted on Twitter by local news reporters
showed similar scenes in at least two other Dublin Marks &
Spencer stores.
Several rival supermarkets in Dublin had full fresh fruit
and vegetable shelves on Wednesday.
"Following the UK's recent departure from the EU, we are
transitioning to new processes and it is taking a little longer
for some of our products to reach our stores," a Marks & Spencer
spokesman told Reuters.
"We're working closely with our partners and suppliers to
ensure customers can continue to enjoy the same great range of
products."
As of Jan. 1, goods shipped back and forth between Britain
and the EU are subject to customs and other bureaucratic hurdles
that did not previously exist.
The few vegetables on the shelves in an M&S store in
Blackrock in south Dublin were mostly potatoes, mushrooms and
carrots sourced from Ireland and Northern Ireland.
A Marks and Spencer store in Galway on Ireland's west coast
and one in Belfast in the British region of Northern Ireland
both had a large number of empty shelves in the chilled food,
meat and fruit and vegetable aisles on Wednesday.
Rival Sainsbury's earlier this week said it had
begun to stack some products in Northern Ireland stores from
rival Spar. Northern Ireland is subject to customs and food
safety checks under the terms of Britain's EU trade deal.
"A small number of our products are temporarily unavailable
for our customers in Northern Ireland while border arrangements
are confirmed," a Sainsbury's spokesman said.
Most of Marks and Spencer's fresh produce on Irish shelves
originates from Britain or elsewhere in the world. Its products
are often prominently branded as British-made.
At least three Marks & Spencer branches in France had empty
shelves on Tuesday.
M&S is scheduled to update shareholders on its Christmas
trading performance on Friday.
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin in Dublin, Ian Graham in Belfast
and Clodagh Kilcoyne in Galway; Writing by Conor Humphries;
Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Jane Merriman)
Marks & Spencer (MKS)
Sainsbury's (SBRY)