London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Brexit and bad planning also to blame for UK fruit and veg shortages, Spain says

Brexit and bad planning also to blame for UK fruit and veg shortages, Spain says

Iceland's boss says a dearth of fruit and vegetables in stores is due to climate change, but a European country's minister suggests other factors are also at play - saying: "Brexit was not a great deal."
Brexit and bad planning - along with weather - are to blame for the fruit and vegetable shortage affecting the UK's supermarkets, Spain's agriculture minister has said.

Major chains Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Morrisons and Asda have imposed limits on the number of certain items customers can buy.

Fruits and vegetables increasingly sourced from Morocco and Spain - such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers - have been affected by supply issues.

Retailers and the government have blamed the problem on weather, which hampered crop growth. Drought conditions were experienced in Spain and Morocco over the summer and followed by cold and wet conditions in winter.

Iceland boss, Richard Walker, told Sky News there was "only so much we can do" about the shortages.

"This is climate change", the executive chairman of Iceland Foods told the Kay Burley Breakfast show on Wednesday.

While the frozen food-focused supermarket has not imposed limits on sales of fruits and vegetables, it said there were lots of empty shelves in stores and that it was in the "same boat as everyone else".

Sales of frozen fruits and vegetables have increased by 25%, he said, adding that supplies would return to normal in two to three weeks.

But Spain's agriculture minister, Luis Planas, said the issues were not solely due to weather.

"There is a problem of programming the purchases, which is quite important, and then there has been a lower production as a result of the low temperatures," he said.

While shops in European Union countries were probably given priority, Mr Planas said, UK shortages were "an
absolutely transitory situation".

"Brexit was not a great deal, but that is for them to judge," he added.

Other factors affecting shortages include reduced crop planting at UK greenhouses.

Many UK farmers reduced greenhouse output due to high energy costs.

Salad items are grown in the UK through winter via lit and heated greenhouses and with fertiliser derived from gas - means of production that have risen sharply in cost due to the energy price rises exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.

The horticulture industry has not been given the same government supports as other big energy consumers. Some UK farmers were put off planting or planted later in the year, as a result.

Logistical difficulties made matters worse. Poor weather hit sea crossings from Morocco to Spain. Fruit and vegetables from Morocco make two sea crossings: across the straits of Gibraltar and the channel, in a journey that takes four to six days.

Another obstacle in the fruit and vegetable journey came from strikes by Border Force workers and Calais port workers last week.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×