An Edinburgh shopper has shared a stark photo of a bare vegetable aisle in his local supermarket.
Andrew Wilson took the image at his local Tesco Extra in Corstorphine, on Meadow Place Road, on Sunday. He says he was met with empty shelves and boxes overturned where tomatoes and peppers should be. He then encountered a similar issue at the Tesco Superstore in Hermiston Gait.
Consumers are being confronted with 'desolate' supermarket shelves as severe shortages of tomatoes, strawberries and peppers hit the country.
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The shortage has been caused by 'difficult weather conditions' in Spain and Morocco, which have been hit by heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and snow storms.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live, the 54-year-old from Corstorphine said: "It seems to have happened at exactly the same in all sort of places. I was cooking dinner, a pork belly, for my mum and sister and I went down to the big Tesco Extra on Meadow Place Road for a couple of things and was struck by a big empty display.
"I then went to the Tesco at Hermiston Gait and was struck again by the same problem. I was able to get what I was looking for but the vegetable displays were still empty with boxes turned over. This was only around 2.30pm on Sunday.
"It's just unusual that is happened in both Tesco stores and have the same problem. I looked on Twitter and at around the same time, I noticed other people post up pictures of empty displays in Tescos around the country.
"I was very surprised to see this level of shortages. Of course, it depends on type of year and supply chains but to see a huge empty shelf in two stores really struck me as a surprise. Especially now as people have to choose between heat and eat and if it's becoming difficult for them to eat because there isn't food on the shelves - that's just making a very difficult cost of living crisis even more difficult."
Andrew Opie, the director of food at the British Retail Consortium said that the shortage is due to weather conditions in the south of Europe and northern Africa.
He said: "Difficult weather conditions in the South of Europe and Northern Africa have disrupted harvest for some fruit and vegetables including tomatoes.
"However, retailers 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."
Andrew posted a photo of the bare shelves to Twitter but he wasn't alone as customers are taking to social media to share images of the empty vegetable shelves in the stores across the UK.
Over in Glasgow, Cllr Andrea Cowan highlighted that her local Tesco also had bare vegetable shelves on Twitter - which was then shared by Dragon Den's Deborah Meaden.
Another shared a similar image of empty vegetable displays in Lea Valley, London.
Tesco has been contacted for comment.
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