Supermarkets blame poor foreign harvests for fruit and veg rationing

Fresh fruit and vegetables are being rationed at four supermarkets in the UK after poor harvests in Spain and North Africa, and a fall in domestic production.

Aldi, Asda, Morrisons and now Tesco have started to limit purchases of some fruit and vegetables.

Temporary limits on tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers have been introduced at Tesco, Morrisons and Aldi.

See also: Food prices: Why farmers get the smallest share and how to change it

Asda has also placed restrictions on lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries.

Sainsbury’s is the only member of Britain’s largest supermarkets not to have imposed buying limits on consumers.

The NFU, the British Growers Association and others have been warning retailers for months that unless they paid British farmers fairer prices to reflect their soaring fuel, feed, fertiliser and energy costs, they would grow less crops.

NFU vice-president David Exwood said: “Producers must have the confidence they need, working within a fair and transparent supply chain, ensuring fair and sustainable returns so they can do what they do best; produce nutritious, high quality British food to meet demand from shoppers.”

Jack Ward, chief executive of the British Growers Association, said: “This is the tip of the iceberg. We are on the verge of a crisis in many sectors. The impact of last year’s summer drought and inflation is coming home to roost.”

However, none of the UK retailers that have introduced rationing have mentioned British farmers cutting back on production as a contributing factor to the current shortages.

For example, Asda told Farmers Weekly the current shortages very much stemmed from poor yields on the European continent and North Africa, and said it expected supply would improve in the coming days or weeks.

Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, warned that the disruption was expected to last a few weeks.

But Mr Opie said supermarkets “are adept at managing supply chain issues and are working with farmers to ensure that customers are able to access a wide range of fresh produce.”