Supermarkets are set to face further shortages of fruit and vegetables as a result of “difficult weather conditions”.
The past six months has seen unpredictable weather such as high temperatures, drought and cold conditions, in addition to skyrocketing prices.
Shoppers at some of the UK’s leading supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Morrisons and Aldi reported empty shelves and gaps across fresh produce this week, claiming the lack of food available as “unacceptable.”
Weymouth @sainsburys today! pic.twitter.com/22ecVxcHbv
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Products such as tomatoes, onions, peppers, lettuce, broccoli, cucumber, cauliflower and cabbage have been affected by the shortages.
“Difficult weather conditions in the south of Europe and northern Africa have disrupted harvest for some fruit and vegetables including tomatoes,” British Retail Consortium director of food and sustainability, Andrew Opie told the Daily Mail.
Growers have also been more dependent on fresh fruit and vegetables from Spain and North Africa this winter as in Britian, less has been planted as a result 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.”
However, Opie said that looking forward, “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.”
