A TORY MP has advised seasonal eating would solve the shortage of tomatoes and other fruit and vegetables.
Selaine Saxby offered the advice during questions put to the Environment Secretary, Therese Coffey.
In response, Coffey told MPs a “lot of people would be eating turnips right now” under a seasonal food model – rather than thinking about lettuce, tomatoes, and similar produce – although she accepted consumers want a “year-round choice”.
A shortage of tomatoes in UK supermarkets has now widened to other fruit and vegetables.
UK media reports suggest the current shortages are due to a combination of bad weather and transport problems in Africa and Europe.
However, supermarket chiefs have said the sector has been “hurt horribly by Brexit” and “the biggest issue” is the energy crisis, as European media report it is the UK alone which is experiencing shortages.
Justin King, former chief executive at Sainsbury's, said the National Farmers' Union had been warning for months that without support on energy it has not been “economically viable to produce under glass during this winter this year in the UK”.
Some supermarkets have introduced customer limits on certain fresh produce, with photographs emerging of empty shelves in the UK, leading Saxby to suggest seasonal eating would solve the issue.
She said: “The supermarkets are still importing far too many products for us and … actually we should be eating more seasonally and supporting our own British farmers.
“And if we were actually to move to a seasonal line of eating, many of these problems would be avoided … there are great food products available from local farmers at this time.”
Coffey replied: “It’s important to make sure that we cherish the specialisms that we have in this country.
“A lot of people would be eating turnips right now rather than thinking necessarily about aspects of lettuce and tomatoes and similar, but I’m conscious that consumers want a year-round choice and that is what our supermarkets, food producers and growers around the world try to satisfy.”
Responding earlier to the urgent question in the House of Commons, Coffey said: “I am led to believe by my officials, after discussion with industry and retailers, we anticipate the situation will last about another two to four weeks.
“It is important that we try and make sure that we get alternative sourcing options. That is why the department has already been in discussion with the retailers.
“It is why there will be further discussions led by ministers as well, so that we can try and get over this and try and avoid similar situations in the future."
In response to a later question, Coffey said: “I’m hoping that this will be a temporary issue.”
Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak should call an emergency Cobra meeting to respond to the “national emergency”.
