Shoppers have been left baffled after spotting empty shelves where there should be fresh tomatoes when they are at the supermarket.
With inflation rates and energy costs forcing food prices up at the supermarket, the weekly shopping trip has certainly changed for millions of households across the UK.
The cost of living crisis has seen issues arise with a variety of basic staples, such as Lurpak butter, pasta, coffee, eggs and oil, and now shoppers have noticed one more product affected - tomatoes.
A few have flocked to social media after they reportedly spotted empty tomato shelves, alongside other bare fresh produce sections, at the likes of Aldi, Morrisons and Tesco.
With the fruit being the latest item to be hit by a shortage in the last year, some shoppers might have questions, so we have all the information to keep you up to date.
Why is there a tomato shortage?
According to the Grocery Gazette, the reason for the lack of tomatoes at UK supermarkets is down to rising energy prices.
It has been reported that tomato growers and farmers are struggling to heat their greenhouses due to the increased cost of gas, which has led them to reduce or delay production.
The rising cost of transportation has also been cited as a reason for the lack of tomatoes at stores, alongside the increased cost of seeds, fertiliser and feed.
Another factor cited as a reason has been adverse weather conditions in Spain and Morocco, which is where the vast majority of tomatoes come from.
Farmers and suppliers have had to deal with cold temperatures, heavy rain, flooding and cancelled ferries which has affected the volume of tomatoes reaching Britain, reports the Fresh produce Journal.
Where has the shortages been spotted so far?
So far, shoppers have spotted the empty shelves at major chain's such as Aldi, Morrisons, Lidl, Sainsbury's and Tesco, with many flocking to social media to query the shortage.
One shopper on the Aldi UK Shoppers Facebook page said: "Anyone else noticed a tomato shortage? What's that about? None in sainsburys or lidi either. Who stole all the tomatoes? #freethetomatoes #greattomatoshortageof2023."
Others have taken to Twitter to share snaps of the bare shelves that they have spotted when they are at the supermarket, with one saying: "Tesco extra today. Serious lack of fresh produce. Only wanted tomatoes and there were none. Went to Aldi next door - none. Waitrose only had a couple of packs. This time of year they come from Spain/Italy……"
One Scots shopper who went to their local Tesco wrote: "I'm sorry, @tesco, this is not good enough in your Dalmarnock store on a Friday afternoon. Lots more shelves with empty boxes throughout the store. Rising prices are bad enough but lack of basic foodstuffs is unacceptable."
Another Morrsisons shopper said: "Had to visit no less and five stores before I could find a packet of fresh tomatoes. I hear this is caused by crop failures, so assume it is the same all over Europe and not just a UK problem...."
Director of Food & Sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, Andrew Opie, told the Daily Record: "Difficult weather conditions in the South of Europe and Northern Africa have disrupted harvest for some fruit and vegetables including tomatoes. However, 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."
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