UK supermarket bosses have been summoned to meet with the government to explain how they will ensure availability of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers after five major grocers had to ration purchases.
(Bloomberg) — UK supermarket bosses have been summoned to meet with the government to explain how they will ensure availability of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers after five major grocers had to ration purchases.
Chains such as Tesco Plc, J Sainsbury Plc and Asda have been asked to meet with Food Minister Mark Spencer on Monday. Lidl has become the fifth supermarket to limit sales of salad items to three per person.
Asda, Morrisons, Aldi and Tesco all introduced rationing last week after cold weather in Spain and north Africa hampered harvests. The situation was worsened by many UK greenhouses lying vacant because growers found it wasn’t economical to pay to heat the spaces.
“The current situation — caused by recent poor weather in north Africa — shows how dependent we can be on certain trade routes for some types of food,” Mark Spencer said in a statement on Monday. “I am calling in supermarket chiefs to find out what they are doing to get shelves stocked again and to outline how we can avoid a repeat of this.”
Shortages have been seen elsewhere in Europe but the UK has been worst-hit with empty shelves and rationing. The situation has led to a debate on whether Brexit is partly to blame and some have pointed to competitive pricing in the UK leading to suppliers prioritizing other, better-paying markets.
The UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said last week that the country has a “highly resilient food supply chain” and that other countries are experiencing similar disruption.
Lidl started rationing purchases because limits at other retailers had a knock-on impact, raising the question of whether rationing is the most effective way to handle the shortages.
“Whilst we still have good availability across the majority of our stores, due to a recent increase in demand, we have taken the decision to temporarily limit the purchase of peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers,” said a spokesperson for Lidl.
–With assistance from Joe Mayes.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.