JERSEY’S supply chains remain “secure” but the Island is susceptible to global market forces, the Chief Minister has said after the UK government confirmed it was contingency planning for potential food shortages as a result of the Middle East conflict.
Deputy Lyndon Farnham said that Jersey’s Emergencies Council is “very busy” monitoring the ongoing war in Iran.
Last week, the UK government said it was planning for a future breakdown in the supply chain of carbon dioxide owing to the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
A disruption to the availability of CO2 – which is used in food preservation and in the slaughter of some animals – may lead to shortages of a number of popular grocery items including chicken and pork.
Asked if Jersey were making similar contingency plans, the Chief Minister said: “We are constantly planning for many different scenarios.
“We have very strong resilience programmes; we work closely, not just with the UK, but with other countries to make sure we’re properly prepared for the future.
“A single plan, somebody once said, is worthless, but continuous planning is absolutely essential.”
He reiterated: “Our resilience team and our emergencies council have been very busy lately making sure we’re properly concerned.
“I will just reassure and say we remain doing continuous resilience planning, continuous modelling, [and] continuing exercises about how we might deal with different circumstances.”
Asked whether Islanders may face a shortage of some items on shop shelves, Deputy Farnham gave an emphatic “no”, adding: “There’s nothing on the horizon whatsoever that would indicate our supply lines are anything but secure,” but he admitted that Jersey is “not insulated” from worldwide issues.
He said: “When there’s global instability, for example a rise in the oil prices or an increase in commodity prices, price rises because of that will find their way back to our supermarket shelves very quickly.
“So it’s important that we can mitigate some of that by making sure we balance our books, keep strong reserves, and make sure we have funding to invest in our own Island, and our own economy, and for support to Islanders that need it.”
Deputy Farnham suggested that the government’s annual accounts for 2025, which were published on Friday and revealed a surplus of £262 million, point to the Island’s capability to withstand geopolitical uncertainty.
“We’ve ended up with a very healthy surplus [and] I think it should provide some reassurance to Islanders that we’re in a strong position.
“And I think it’s important right now that we are in that strong positions with the challenges we face around the world.
“The most important thing in the years ahead is that we continue to balance the books, and I’m confident we will continue to create surpluses, and we must increase the contributions to our reserves and keep those growing.”
