A Newcastle greengrocer has explained why he has plenty of fruit and vegetables while supermarket shelves lay bare. Huge shortages of popular items such as tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers have been heavily reported in recent weeks.
The shortages have been blamed on adverse weather conditions not just in Britain, but in locations such as Spain and Morocco too. Supermarkets chains such as Tesco, Morrisons, Lidl, Aldi and Asda have introduced buying restrictions on certain fresh produce items as a result.
But Barry Moore, of Bryan Muers and Son Quality Fruiterers in the Grainger Market in Newcastle, has revealed why his shelves are still fully stocked.
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He told ChronicleLive: "It is true that the weather in Spain and Morocco, where the tomatoes come from, has not been ideal for their growth, but this kind of an excuse can only go so far. These products are not vital to supermarkets so they are simply not willing to pay higher prices for them."
Lidl became the latest supermarket to introduce buyer limits, but stressed it continues to have good availability across the majority of its stores.
Last week Tesco and Aldi began limiting customers to three units of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers as a precautionary measure, while Asda is also limiting customers on lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries.
Morrisons has set a limit of two items per customer across tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and peppers.
Barry feels the current shortages will just be a temporary problem, but has urged shoppers to support their local greengrocers who have been hit hard by the cost of living crisis.
"From my perspective, I have to pay these higher prices as this is my livelihood," he said. "If I am not able to get the fruit and veg that I sell, there are no other ways for me to make money.
"This is definitely only a temporary issue, I'm sure supermarkets will be back full stocked in no time. The produce is there for a price at the moment, and I would encourage everyone to get your fresh fruit and veg at a local greengrocers, especially while they can't get it elsewhere."
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