Finding a fresh tomato in a supermarket in Manchester right now is a bit like taking part in a task on the Crystal Maze - you’re either extremely lucky and get through, or you get locked out until one of your friend’s can save the day with a tin of chopped tomatoes from the back of their cupboard.
A number of supermarkets have already issued warnings to shoppers that supply chain issues are affecting stock of tomatoes, but experts are now warning that several other staple vegetables could soon face rations in a bid to tackle limited supplies.
And it can already be seen in the aisles of some of Manchester’s leading supermarkets. Visiting Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, Iceland, and Marks & Spencer today, we were greeted by a number of empty shelves where tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, celery and broccoli should have been.
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On a Tuesday afternoon in Old Trafford, only two of the five supermarkets we visited - Tesco and Iceland - had a ‘handful’ of salad tomatoes left, with stock seemingly wiped out elsewhere. Meanwhile, tins of tomato sauces and chopped tomatoes remained fully available in the aisles of all the shops we visited.
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We could only find a small number of fresh peppers in Tesco, with the four other stores having sold out. Fresh iceberg lettuce was also low everywhere, but the less-favoured rocket was slightly more available.
Amongst the sea of empty boxes of produce lay signs informing shoppers that a number of salad ingredients were out of stock ‘due to adverse weather conditions in Spain and Morocco’, but stock was expected back on the shelves soon.
Weather and environmental factors are one of the primary reasons for the shortages, and stores have told the M.E.N that the availability at specific stores doesn’t fully represent the overall availability, but the president of the National Farmers' Union (NFU) has today warned that low supplies are also the result of UK farmers struggling with rising energy costs.
Speaking at the NFU conference in Birmingham, president Minette Batters said: “Everybody wants to avoid rationing, effectively, which is what we saw with eggs in December but I think there are going to be challenges on availability of some food items.”
She said that, alongside tomatoes, peppers and other salad vegetables grown indoors were currently the most impacted, whilst potatoes, cauliflower and ‘purple-sprouting’ broccoli were also starting to face low shortages.
The farming union chief warned in her speech that the ‘clock is ticking’ for the Government to intervene and act in order to avoid ‘a level of panic buying’ - similar to scenes at the start of the lockdown where some shoppers stockpiled essential items.
Explaining further to Sky News, Mrs Batters said: “The real danger here is that unless we can give farmers and growers the confidence to keep investing, they're producing less. That will drive further cost inflation for consumers. That's what we want to avoid.”
To combat supply issues, some stores are introducing temporary limits on the number of products customers can buy - although this was not the case at any of the stores we visited in Manchester.
A number of supermarkets have also told us they are ‘mitigating’ through alternative supply routes where possible and stress that the current shortage is expected to ‘improve in the coming weeks’.
The British Retail Consortium, the trade association for all UK retailers, told the M.E.N today that with UK produce now starting to come into season, it is hoped the pressure on imports will be alleviated.
Andrew Opie, Director of Food & Sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, added: “Difficult weather conditions in the South of Europe and Northern Africa have disrupted harvest for some fruit and vegetables including tomatoes and peppers.
“While disruption is expected to last a few weeks, 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.”
We approached all supermarkets we visited for a comment. A spokesperson for Marks & Spencer said: "Although we are not immune to the well-publicised issues across the whole industry, we are mitigating where we can through alternative supply routes."
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