Take it easy on broccoli… Affected by a shortage of fruit and vegetables, some British supermarkets are rationing the number of products that their customers can buy. In question the drought a few thousand kilometers further south.
“Difficult weather conditions in southern Europe and North Africa have disrupted the harvest of some fruits and vegetables, including tomatoes and peppers,” said Andrew Opie, an official with the federation of traders BRC.
The federation confirmed that some stores in the country have introduced temporary limits on the number of products customers can purchase to ensure availability for everyone.
The disruptions “are expected to last a few weeks,” Mr Opie added. “Supermarkets are adept at managing supply chain issues and working with farmers to ensure customers can access a wide range of fresh produce. »
Limit of three
“Like other supermarkets, we are experiencing supply difficulties for certain products grown in southern Spain and North Africa,” said a spokesperson for the company. Asda chain of stores.
“We have introduced a temporary limit of three for each product on a very small number of fruits and vegetables,” he added. The measure targets batches of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries.
Beyond these one-off problems, British farmers warned in December that the United Kingdom was heading straight for a food supply crisis due to soaring costs hitting professionals in the sector.
The government announced at the annual conference of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), the country’s main farmers’ union, on Tuesday that more than £168 million in subsidies for British farmers this year to “stimulate innovation, support food production, improving animal health and welfare and protecting the environment”.
These subsidies will be paid in parallel with the establishment of “environmental land management programs”, which are to replace European aid after Brexit, the executive said in a press release.