UK fruit and veg shortage continues
Credit: Abby Ferla
Currently the south of Spain has been suffering extremely cold weather, while in Morocco crop yields have been devastated by floods, paired with storms cancelling or delaying ferries for transport.
Alongside this the Netherlands have been hit with higher electricity prices, meaning the UK are not getting their winter crops.
Some of the largest supermarkets in the country including Tesco, Lidl, Aldi and Asda have announced caps on the number of items customers can buy.
Asda has capped the sales of lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, salad bags and raspberries. While Tesco and Aldi have limited tomatoes, peppers and cucumber to three per person.
As a result, Morocco has banned the export of tomatoes, onions and potatoes to West African countries in hopes of protecting its European exports.
The National Farmers’ Union has called for more support for UK farmers, reminding that the horticulture sector was not included in the government’s support scheme for energy intensive industries.
It is expected that the shortage will only last a few weeks, when the UK growing season begins and supermarkets find alternative supplies.
