Supermarkets are rationing fruit and vegetables as shelves continue to remain bare in stores across the country. Shoppers in some Asda stores have been told that they can buy up to three packs each of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower, and raspberries at a time as supplies run empty in a number of outlets.
According to the Daily Mail, The crisis has developed in recent weeks due to soaring energy costs which have forced British farmers to switch off greenhouses as they desperately try to make ends meet. Meanwhile, a ‘perfect storm’ of flooding, cold temperatures and canceled ferries have caused major supply problems on the Continent. One shopper, Hilary Paterson-Jones, said she had to visit four supermarkets in her hometown of Holyhead, Anglesey, to complete her weekly shop.
She said: ‘There was hardly any fresh produce in Tesco. In Morrisons I asked a young staff member what was going on and he said there was nothing in the back stores.
‘It was the same in Aldi and Lidl, it seemed to be affecting all the supermarkets. ‘Shortages have been getting worse in recent months but I was shocked to see so many empty shelves at 10 am on a Saturday morning.
‘Things can get bad during the summer when the tourists arrive, but nothing like this. Prices are going through the roof but a lack of basic foodstuffs is unacceptable.’ After sharing her concerns on social media, Ms. Paterson-Jones was contacted by scores of other people from around Britain.
One couldn’t get apples, another struggled with cabbages, a third was stumped for orange juice. Tomatoes and iceberg lettuce proved particularly difficult to buy. In one Morrisons store, staff put up a sign apologizing for the disruption.
It read: ‘Availability across our tomato range has been significantly impacted by adverse weather conditions across Spain and Morocco. The current shortage is likely to improve within a couple of weeks.’
An Asda spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘Like other supermarkets, we are experiencing sourcing challenges on some products that are grown in southern Spain and north Africa.
‘We have introduced a temporary limit of three of each product on a very small number of fruit and vegetable lines, so customers can pick up the products they are looking for.’
Farmers’ Union (NFU) conference today, told Sky News how soaring energy costs in the UK were also a major reason for shortages.
‘You’ve got farmers who feel so frustrated that they haven’t got government support and if you’re a consumer you’re going into the supermarket and seeing that shelves are empty,’ he said.
‘Why? Because the Government are not on the side of farmers or on the side of food security, and in the end, consumers are paying the price.
‘We do grow produce here but it’s a matter of fact that we’re not growing tomatoes for instance because the cost of energy in the greenhouses is so high that they’ve just been turned off. That is a contributing factor to why there are gaps on the supermarket shelves.
‘The reason you can’t buy eggs on Pancake Day in many supermarkets is because of avian flu. The Government could have responded much quicker to that and farmers feel very frustrated with the way they’ve been treated.’
