Tesco PLC (LSE:TSCO) and Aldi have joined Asda and Morrison's in placing limits on the amount of fruit and vegetables customers can buy, with post-Brexit trade blunders and poor weather in Spain and North Africa blamed for hitting supply to the UK.
Asda has reduced the number of tomatoes, peppers and lettuces customers can buy to three each, while Morrison’s, Aldi and Tesco all said they would introduce similar limits.
Squeezed supply has led to concerns that supermarkets will further hike prices after food inflation rose 10.1% in January.
“Where supply issues lead, price hikes are sure to follow,” said AJ Bell analyst Dani Hewson. “Another unpleasant factor British shoppers will have to consider when planning their weekly menus.”
Other supermarkets such as J Sainsbury PLC, Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS) and Lidl are yet to impose limits on the goods, but photos have circulated social media of empty shelves at several stores.
The UK imports almost all its fruit and half of its veg, costing around £10.46bn in 2021, according to Statista.
I really can't ridicule the incompetence of the UK government over post-Brexit trade enough
Remember the phantom Seabourne Ferries debacle?
Well, the latest example is a tale of utter incompetence, phantom shipping companies and the Great UK Tomato Shortage of 2023 ????
— Chris Lowndes ????????????️ (@chrislowndes) February 21, 2023
Cooler weather in Spain and North Africa, where a large proportion of these imports derive, has led to a poor harvest, however, with UK farming having also taken a hit.
Reliance on Morocco has been undermined by the failure of a planned shipping line to the UK, which has led to exporters needing to travel by land, where more problems have emerged - though tomato supplies to EU countries have been largely unaffected due to a wider number of trade agreements.
National Farmers Union president Minette Batters warned on Tuesday that the UK agricultural sector needed more government support to prop up production as higher costs continue to bite.
Hewson also suggested Brexit may have a part to play in shortages.
“Questions are being asked about whether the UK is singularly impacted by the shortages and whether the post Brexit world leaves the country more vulnerable to supply shocks,” she commented.