London Daily

Focus on the big picture.

Supermarkets begin to drop limits on fresh produce

Supermarkets begin to drop limits on fresh produce

Asda removed its limit of three on cucumbers, lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries - but has left restrictions on tomatoes and peppers. Morrisons also removed its restriction on cucumbers, but kept its limit of two items per customer on tomatoes, lettuce and peppers.

Some supermarkets have begun to drop customer limits on certain fresh fruit and vegetables as supply issues begin to ease.

Asda confirmed it had removed its limit of three on cucumbers, lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries - but has left restrictions of three on tomatoes and peppers.

The supermarket said availability had improved as expected, and supplies of tomatoes and peppers were also expected to return to normal within a couple of weeks.

Morrisons also removed its restriction on cucumbers, but kept its limit of two items per customer on tomatoes, lettuce and peppers.

Shoppers began to share their frustration about shortages of tomatoes around 20 February, with supermarkets responding to say a combination of bad weather and related transport problems in north Africa and Europe were causing significant supply problems.

The shortage soon began affecting other products, leaving shelves without a number of fresh produce items such as cucumbers, peppers and lettuces.

Tesco, Aldi and Lidl limited the purchase of peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers to three items per person.

Sky News has contacted Tesco, Aldi, and Lidl for comment.

Unusually cold night-time temperatures affected tomato ripening in Morocco in January, with growers and suppliers also having to contend with heavy rain, flooding and cancelled ferries - all of which affected the volume of fruit reaching Britain.

Supplies from Britain's other major winter source, Spain, were also badly affected by weather, with issues compounded by ferry cancellations due to bad weather.

Producers locally also reported having to cut back on their use of greenhouses due to higher electricity prices.



Shortages could be 'tip of the iceberg'

Environment Secretary Theresa Coffey suggested British consumers should eat more turnips instead of imported food when asked about the shortages, leading to mocking headlines like: "Let them eat turnips".

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) warned shortages could become more common if the government does not secure domestic supplies.

"We will always rely on imports to some degree for produce we can't grow here, or to ensure diversity of supply," NFU deputy president Tom Bradshaw told Sky News.

But "as global volatility increases, it's imperative the government focuses on building resilient domestic food supply chains", he added.

Newsletter

Related Articles

London Daily
0:00
0:00
Close
Israel Warns France of Iranian Threats at Paris Olympics
Possible Successors to Rishi Sunak as Conservative Party Leader
Olaf Scholz to Run for German Chancellor Again in 2025
TikTok Fined by UK Regulator for Child Safety Data Reporting Failures
Miracle Baby Born After Gaza Airstrike
Global Tech Outage Caused by Bug in CrowdStrike's Software
Ukrainian FM Open to Peace Talks with Russia, China Reports
EU to Transfer Interest from Frozen Russian Funds to Ukraine
Greenpeace Co-Founder Paul Watson Arrested in Greenland
EU Relocates Summit to Punish Hungary over Orban's Ukraine Visit
Netanyahu Seeks Meeting with Trump During Washington Visit
World's Hottest Day Recorded on July 21
UK Labour Government To Halt Migrant Housing on Accommodation Barge
President Biden Returns to White House After Testing COVID Negative
Trump Says Kamala Harris Would Be Easier Election Opponent Than Biden
Thousands Protest in Mallorca Against Mass Tourism
Immigration Crackdown Targets Car Washes and Beauty Sector
Nigeria's Controversial Return to Colonial-Era National Anthem
Hacking Vulnerabilities: Androids vs. iPhones
Ukraine Crisis Should Be EU's Responsibility, Says Trump’s Envoy
A Week of Turmoil: Key Moments in US Politics
Barrow's Sacred Heart Primary School Faces Long-Term Closure
German National Sentenced to Death in Belarus
Elon Musk's Companies Drop CrowdStrike After Global Windows 10 Outage
US Advises India on Russian Ties Amid Geopolitical Shifts
Trump Pledges to End Ukraine Conflict if Reelected
Global IT Outage Unveils Digital Vulnerabilities
Global IT Outage Sparks Questions About Financial Accountability
CrowdStrike Bug Affects 8.5 Million Windows Devices
Flights Resume After Major Microsoft Outage
US Criticizes International Court's Opinion on Israeli Occupation
CrowdStrike Update Causes Global IT Outage Due to Skipped Quality Checks
EU’s Patronizing Attitude Towards Africa Revealed
Netanyahu Denounces World Court Ruling on Israeli Occupation
Adidas Drops Bella Hadid Over Controversy
Global Outage Caused by CrowdStrike Update Impacts Millions
Massive Flight Cancellations Across the U.S. Due to Microsoft Outage
Global Windows Outage Causes Chaos Across Banks, Airlines, and More
Russia Accuses Ukraine of Using Chemical Weapons
UK's Flawed COVID-19 Planning Exposed by Inquiry
Ursula von der Leyen Wins Second Term as European Commission President
Police Officer Injured in Attack in Central Paris
Hulk Hogan absolutely tore it up at the RNC.
Paris is being "cleansed" of migrants and homeless people ahead of the Olympics.
Lamine Yamal arriving at his school after winning the Euros
Campaigners Urge UK Government to Block Shein's London IPO
UK Labour Government's Legislative Agenda
UK Labour Government to Regulate Powerful AI Models
Record Heat Temperatures in Ukraine Amid Power Crisis
UK Government Plans to Remove 92 Hereditary Peers from House of Lords
×