Aldi and Tesco have both joined Asda and Morrisons in limiting the quantity how many of certain types of salad crops customers can buy amid increasing shortages of some of the UK's most popular vegetables.
Shoppers will be restricted to just two or three packs of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers in all four supermarkets, with Asda and Morrisons imposing bans on bulk buying other produce to keep supplies in stock for everyone.
All four retailers have stressed the limit is temporary while they grapple with sourcing challenges for products that are grown in Southern Spain and Northern Africa. Other supermarkets such as Sainsbury's, Waitrose and Lidl have so far not introduced limits.
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Industry experts are warning that the crisis could last until as late as April, with Andrew Opie of the British Retail Consortium saying the issues were likely to last a "few weeks". And there was more bad news for salad lovers as Clive Black, an analyst at broker Shore Capital, told The Mirror that fruit and vegetable prices could be sent “sky high” by the current wave of shortages.
The BRC said Britain typically imports 95% of its tomatoes and 90% of lettuces from December to March, but suppliers in Morocco and Spain, which are two of the UK's biggest suppliers over the winter months, have experienced cold temperatures, heavy rain, and flooding over the past three to four weeks. This has affected the crops and bad weather has caused delays on ferries which transport the vegetables to the UK.
According to Shore Capital's Mr Black, bad weather in Spain had come at a low point in the UK’s growing season, which has resulted in a “perfect storm leading to sky-high prices for tomatoes and cucumbers”.
Chris Kelman is the owner of family business in Consett, County Durham, and says he has never known such high prices in his 26 years in the fruit and veg trade.
Chris, 47, runs Relman's with his wife Louise and elder son, Louie, 21. The family have a shop in the former steel town and supply business customers with wholesale fruit and veg, as well as managing a growing online business, originally set up to supply customers during the pandemic.
Chris 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 asking by wholesale customers if they want to go ahead with some of their orders before I buy the stock for them.
"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.
"We have got used to cheap food, but although I can't blame people for shopping for the lowest prices, I think supermarkets pay suppliers far too little for the products and it's not a case that independent shops charge too much, it's more a case of supermarkets charging too little. People are well aware of the arguments over how much supermarkets pay dairy farmers for milk and egg producers for their eggs, but it goes further than that.
"Take bananas for an example. I am paying £1.20/kg for bananas, yet supermarkets are charging 78p/kg. Bananas comer from South and Central America - how on earth can they come from so far away and end up only costing the customer 78p/kg? It just doesn't add up. Luckily my customers are prepared to pay extra for better quality fruit and veg but it's getting harder in the cost of living crisis."
Chris, who gets up at 4.30am every day, says his family have done well from the business, but reckons the writing is on the wall for local shops such as his. "You used to see lots of independent shops in every town but there are fewer and fewer of us as the supermarkets moved in," he said. "My elder son joined the business but I have told him her needs to look around and see what else he can do long-term, because I don't think there's another 20-30 years in the business.
"l I worked in my dad's fruit and veg business in Spennymoor before opening my own shop when I was just 21, and back then, there were around 30-40 wholesalers at the Team Valley Market. Now there's just three. The way people shop is different too and you can't blame them for looking for lower prices to make their money go further.
"Supply issues are making prices sky-high now and I reckons there;'s a few more weeks of this to come, but I think it will all blow over when the supplies start to arrive from Hiolland in April."
How much salad can you buy?
Tesco: Tomatoes, peppers and cucumber limited to three per person
Aldi: Tomatoes, peppers and cucumber limited to three per person
Asda: Tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, lettuce, bagged salad, broccoli , cauliflower and raspberries limited to three per person
Morrisons: Tomatoes, peppers and cucumber and lettuce limited to two per person
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