Tesco has seen limited Brexit disruption to Irish supplies -CEO

The disruption was limited to certain categories such as short shelf life ready meals, he said. The CEO said he was confident Tesco would have right measures in place to supply Northern Ireland after end of a three month grace period on certain rules and regulations with the EU on March 31.

Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, has experienced some disruption to supplies, particularly to the island of Ireland, since a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union kicked in on Jan. 1, its boss said on Thursday. "We have seen some limited disruption into the Republic of Ireland and into the north of Ireland, but we're working very closely with government on both sides of the Irish Sea to smooth the flow of product," Ken Murphy told reporters after Tesco updated on Christmas trading.

He said Tesco's product availability in both markets "remains strong". The disruption was limited to certain categories such as short shelf life ready meals, he said.

The CEO said he was confident Tesco would have right measures in place to supply Northern Ireland after end of a three month grace period on certain rules and regulations with the EU on March 31. Murphy also said there had also been "teething problems" with supply flows from continental Europe to the United Kingdom.

"Inevitably there are bedding-in issues, teething issues, that you would expect with any new process that's been set up at relatively short notice," he said. "We're working our way through those and we would hope over the coming weeks and months that we will end up with a much smoother flow of product."