Marine Atlantic is returning to sequential loading, shifting away from the load priority given to food and pharmacy products during COVID-19. That is raising concerns for the Retail Council of Canada.

Atlantic Director Jim Cormier says it’s always been a challenge getting fruits and vegetables to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in a timely manner, particularly in the winter months.

He says they’ve been asking for a load priority system for food and pharmacy products on behalf of grocery retailers for years, but COVID changed all that.

Cormier says Marine Atlantic is aware they wanted load priority to continue. One major grocery store reported their on-time delivery of fruits and vegetables was up 53 per cent from March through to June.