Britain's Tesco is addressing HGV driver shortage - CEO

LONDON (Reuters) - Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, is experiencing a shortage of HGV drivers but has a plan to deal with it and product availability in stores remains strong, its boss said on Friday.

"In terms of labour availability, we've seen some shortage specifically in HGV drivers, but we're working really hard to address that," Ken Murphy told reporters after Tesco updated on first quarter trading.

"We've already got plans to address the shortfall and we're working closely with the suppliers," he said.

Murphy said product availability in stores remains "really strong".

On Wednesday the UK's Road Haulage Association (RHA) met government to highlight a "growing peril" to UK supply chains from a worsening HGV driver shortage.

Factors leading to the current shortage, which the RHA puts at 70,000, include reduced access to labour because of Brexit and COVID-19, and the loss of about a year of driver training and testing.

(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Alistair Smout)