Shoppers are facing empty shelves as supermarkets struggle to meet demand for salad crops and vegetables.
Fed-up customers have taken to social media to complain about the lack of supply of tomatoes, onions, peppers, lettuce, broccoli, cucumber, cauliflower and cabbage, leading to bare displays in the produce sections of most supermarkets.
The lack of fresh veg has been blamed on a combination of bad weather and the cost of living by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), but shoppers at the UK's leading retailers, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Aldi, have slammed the lack of food available as “unacceptable.”
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To make things worse, families have been warned that supermarkets may face further shortages of fruit and vegetables as a result of “difficult weather conditions”. in Southern Europe and Northern Africa, however Andrew Opie of the BRC said that “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.”
@musicloverch1 said on Twitter "No fresh tomatoes in Tesco for four days now!" while @Xhakaed agreed: "Haven't seen regular tomatoes in my local big Sainsbury's in weeks, if not months. Only cherry and plum." @romana2855 said: "I've just been to our local Morrisons. Empty boxes there also and a very limited choice of very expensive tomatoes."
@abandonedgloves joked: "For Sale: 2 x Tesco salad tomatoes, bought new by me on Friday 17th Feb, good condition, been kept in fridge, £90 for both but will do a discount for anyone with #FBPE (follow back, Pro-European Union) in their username," while @wanderer1982 shared: "Got a telling off from wife last night when she asked me to stop at Aldi on way home from work to get tomatoes. Shelves were empty, and grabbed one of the last dozen packs. Got home and she thought I just ran in and grabbed first thing came to hand."
Others however seemed to have no issues getting their hands on fresh veg, with @happykerching wondering what all the fuss was about: "I have yet failed to buy a tomatoes in Aldi ,Waitrose or Sainsbury's. Far to much over the top drama," with @RichMountbasketsaying: "I was gonna say the same, loads of tomatoes in Lidl yesterday."
Unpredictable weather such as high temperatures, drought and cold conditions in addition to rocketing energy prices have formed the perfect storm for growers. Mr Opie of the BRC told the Daily Mail.. “Difficult weather conditions in the south of Europe and northern Africa have disrupted harvest for some fruit and vegetables including tomatoes.”
National Farmers Union (NFU) president Minette Batters told Grocery Gazette: “We’re seeing the lowest levels of tomatoes and cucumbers produced since records began in 1985."
Growers have been more dependent on fresh fruit and vegetables from Spain and North Africa this winter as in British farmers are growing fewer crops because of rising costs to heat greenhouses. British Growers Association chief executive, Jack Ward told the Independent: “Growers simply didn’t put them in the ground. They’d rather wait on warmer weather when they don’t have to rely on heating. Not only did we not plant, but great swathes of the Netherlands did not plant for exactly the same reason. So we’ve become overly dependent on Spain and Morocco and probably there was never enough capacity in those countries to do what they were already doing, let alone make up for the shortfall in Northern Europe.”
British Tomato Growers Association (BTGA) spokeswoman Julie Woolley told The Grocer that tomato availability was a global issue. With production reliant on greenhouses being heated to 20 degrees celsius, but with energy costs continuing to rise and budgets being squeezed, tomato farmers have had to reduce or delay planting crops – leading to a shortage.
NFU president Minette Batters told the BBC: “I fear the country is sleepwalking into further food supply crises, with the future of British fruit and vegetable supplies in trouble,” she said.
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