- Supermarkets in the UK have introduced rationing of some Fruits and vegetables, as North Africa and southern Europe caused a shortage of tomatoes and other salad ingredients.
- Farmers battle with labour shortages, soaring energy costs, inflation, supply chain issues and climate change.
- Since 2019, the cost of fertiliser has gone up by 169 per cent, energy costs are up 79 per cent – three times higher than normal. Animal feed is up 57 per cent. Labour shortages have also hit hard. UK farmers face costs that are almost 50 per cent higher than in 2019.
- The country imports about 90 per cent of such crops from Morocco and Spain during the winter.
Supermarkets in the UK have introduced rationing of some Fruits and vegetables after a cooler than usual winter in North Africa and southern Europe caused a shortage of tomatoes and other salad ingredients. Morrisons has placed two per item limits on cucumbers, lettuce, peppers and tomatoes. Asda is limiting sales of broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, lettuce, peppers, raspberries, salad bags, and tomatoes to three per customer.
British supermarket shelves lay bare as farmers battle with labour shortages, soaring energy costs, inflation, supply chain issues and climate change. Eggs and salad ingredients have been particularly affected by this “perfect storm” of events. “Everybody wants to avoid rationing… which is what we saw with eggs in December,” Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) of England and Wales, told newsmen. “I think there are going to be challenges with the availability of some food items,” she added.
Since 2019, the cost of fertiliser has gone up by 169 per cent, energy costs are up 79 per cent – three times higher than normal. Animal feed is up 57 per cent. Labour shortages have also hit hard in the UK. Overall, UK farmers face costs that are almost 50 per cent higher than in 2019. Elsewhere producers are also suffering the snowball effects of the energy crisis too. Despite the rise in supermarket food prices, many farmers are still facing costs of production higher than their returns. Tomato and vegetable shortages have also been reported in Ireland.
Extreme weather has only added to these struggles. The UK has faced abnormally high temperatures in both summer and winter, as well as drought in some parts of the country, which has impacted crops and livestock. Abnormal weather abroad has also impacted yields, particularly in southern Europe and northern Africa. This is expected to affect imports for the next few weeks.
While the UK is nearly self-sufficient in growing crops such as tomatoes and cucumbers during the summer months, the country imports about 90 per cent of such crops from Morocco and Spain during the winter.
The cooler weather this winter in Morocco and Spain has meant tomatoes are taking longer to grow, leading to empty shelves at British supermarkets.
