Industry experts say the shortages are due to bad weather…reports Asian Lite News
Tesco, the UK’s largest chain, has imposed a buying limit of three items per customer on tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. The British branch of the German chain Aldi announced the same measure, and Morrisons imposed limits on the same three vegetables as well as lettuce.
A day earlier, Asda imposed purchase limits on a total of eight lines of fruits and vegetables. The produce now rationed by the chain includes tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, bagged salad, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries.
While opponents of the UK decision to leave the European Union blame Brexit for empty shelves not seen in much of continental Europe, industry experts say the shortages are due to bad weather.
“Difficult weather conditions in the south of Europe and northern Africa have disrupted harvest for some fruit and vegetables, including tomatoes and peppers,” said Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium. The group represents all of the UK’s major supermarkets.
“Supermarkets are adept at managing supply chain issues and are working with farmers to ensure that customers are able to access a wide range of fresh produce,” he said. Opie added that the disruption is expected to last a few weeks.
Spain has had unusually cold weather over the past month. Farmers in southern Spain saw ferries cancelled, which aggravated supply problems. Similarly, growers and suppliers in Morocco reported reduced produce volumes due to cold temperatures, heavy rain and flooding.
Paul Smith, from wholesaler Oliver Kay, said with lower levels of planting this year, there was less surplus available to offset reduced yields elsewhere.
“Growers across the UK and Europe have been battling with severe weather conditions for a number of months now,” he said.
A spell of heatwaves in June 2022 led to the fourth warmest UK summer on record and temperatures broke the 40C mark for the first time. That was followed by sharp, prolonged freezes in December.
Tim O’Malley, managing director of Nationwide Produce, one of the UK’s largest fresh produce firms, has warned his customers that could mean “major shortages” in domestically grown crops too.
UK crops of carrots, parsnips, cabbage and cauliflower had been affected by the poor weather, Mr O’Malley said.
“We are about to see serious shortages and price hikes on these lines in the coming weeks and months,” he said.
“The biggest issue we now have as an industry is not inflation, it’s mother nature,” he added.
Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers’ Union, called for more support for growers, describing it as “ridiculous” that the horticulture sector was not included in the government’s support scheme for energy intensive industries.
However, farming minister, Mark Spencer, said the shortages were the result of “weather events in other parts of the world” rather than the challenges facing UK producers.
