Shortages at U.S. grocery stores increasing: AP

Some shelves are seen nearly empty at a grocery store in Washington, D.C., the United States on Jan. 10, 2022. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The fast-spreading Omicron variant and severe weather have led to increasing shortages at U.S. grocery stores in recent weeks, the Associate Press has reported.

The nationwide shortages impact produce, meat, and packaged goods such as cereal, the report said.

U.S. groceries typically have 5 percent to 10 percent of their items out of stock at any given time and currently the unavailability rate is hovering around 15 percent, the Consumer Brands Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman was quoted as saying.■