The shortage of fruit and veg in supermarkets is set to be made worse by the bad weather forecasted this week, experts have warned.
Most major supermarkets have been limiting how much of certain fruit and vegetables shoppers could buy since last week, with tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers the worst affected by the supply shortages caused by difficult weather conditions in southern Europe and northern Africa.
And growers' organisations have said the adverse weather due to hit the UK this week could disrupt crops even further. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said the UK typically imports 95% of its tomatoes and 90% of lettuces from December to March, and flooding, snow and cold weather in Morocco and Spain have caused poor yields which stripped supermarket shelves. The bad weather has also caused delays on ferries which transport the vegetables to the UK.
Read more: Snow set to hit rural areas but miss more built-up parts of the region
And hopes that gaps in supplies might be plugged by early UK-grown supplies have been dashed as the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for large parts of Scotland and North East England until 10am on Wednesday, while a second warning was put in place across the North East for Thursday and Friday. Temperatures are set to fall to -8C in some parts of Scotland, with below freezing temperatures likely to continue through until next week.
Some UK vegetable and salad farmers have not heated their greenhouses and polytunnels because of the cost of living crisis, meaning early UK crops are thin in the ground.
Cucumber Growers’ Association spokesperson, Joe Shepherdson told The Sun: “Plants are going in more each week but harvest is still four weeks away and we have this incoming weather to deal with. The cold, dark days delay plants,” he said, adding “you need extra gas to speed them up, which growers are reluctant to do.”
Jack Ward, of the British Growers Association, said we should expect to see stocks running low of carrots, leeks, cabbage and cauliflower, saying that some of the supply issues were down to high energy costs as some growers are waiting to plant their crops until the worst of the cold weather is over.
Local greengrocers have also been hit by the shortage, with Chris Kelman is the owner of family business Relman's in Consett, County Durham, saying he has never known such high prices in his 26 years in the fruit and veg trade.
Chris, 47, said he could get supplies from the North Wholesale East Fruit and Vegetable Market on Team Valley, Gateshead, but the cost of some produce was prohibitive for some of his customers. "I can get my hands on stock, but at a cost," he said. "I am currently paying £18 for a box of tomatoes which a few weeks ago cost me £6-7. Peppers are £25-30 for a box of 15 to 20 depending on the size, where they used to be £10. At the moment, I am paying more wholesale than the likes of Tesco are charging retail. A pepper is costing me at over a pound to buy at the market and Tesco are selling them for 55p."
Barry Moore, of Bryan Muers and Son Quality Fruiterers in the Grainger Market in Newcastle, said: "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. From my perspective, I have to pay these higher prices as this is my livelihood If I am not able to get the fruit and veg that I sell, there are no other ways for me to make money."
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