ALDI has warned customers of 30-day delays on stock as a result of the Suez Canal blockage last month.
The budget supermarket chain took to social media to issue an apology saying that Specialbuys orders could be up to a month late after the cargo vessel bcame trapped in March.
The 400-metre long Ever Given ship became stuck lengthways across the vital shipping route due to strong winds.
The Suez Canal blockage piled up a backlog of around 400 ships waiting to pass from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean, or vice versa.
The canal is one of the world’s most important shipping routes, carrying about one tenth of all oil and goods which are transported by sea. This includes furniture, electronics and clothing bound for UK shelves.
“Containerised freight is what gets most goods to most shops. So the whole range of things that people see that are imported, could be in these containers,” said Joanna Konings at the time, a senior economist and trade expert at banking giant ING.
“All of that is either directly going through the Suez Canal, or it’s a product that competes with a product that’s going through this canal.”
The Grocer reports that the German supermarket chain has moved to confirm a number of delays have been caused by the blockage.
An Aldi spokesperson said "We're sorry. The Specialbuys you're looking for may have been delayed due to current events.
"We are working hard to make them available as soon as possible."
Biking gear and travel cots are among the products affected which are expected to be delayed until the end of April.
We approached Aldi for further comment who said it has nothing further to add at this time.
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