Deliveries of some fruit and vegetables, including tomatoes, to UK supermarkets have been disrupted by bad weather in Europe and Africa.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said harvests had been impacted by “difficult weather conditions”.
Numerous pictures of empty shelves in supermarkets have been circulating on social media in the past few days.
Sources within the industry have confirmed that there have been temporary supply shortages.
Among the images shared on social media, the tomato shortage seems particularly significant.
A significant portion of the tomatoes we consume during the winter months are grown in Morocco and southern Spain. Both regions have recently been hit first by warm weather – affecting crop yields – and then by a cold snap, which has meant longer growing seasons.
Canceled ferries from Morocco due to bad weather have also impacted deliveries.
Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the BRC, said supermarkets “are able to manage supply chain issues and are working with farmers to ensure customers have access to a wide range of fresh produce”.
But other companies are also affected.
Wiltshire-based Heritage Fine Food Company, a wholesaler that supplies restaurants, cafes and schools in south-west England, warned on its website that sourcing tomatoes is an “incredible challenge”.
Cucumbers are “incredibly limited in supply” while peppers are not ripe.
Some of the fruit and vegetables that the UK imports in winter come from the Netherlands, where they are grown in large greenhouses.
While it’s clear that the companies that make them have been badly affected by high energy prices, it’s not clear if this has affected UK supplies.
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