Tim O'Malley, of major importer Nationwide Produce, said volatile growing conditions had seen wholesale spot prices for fresh produce lines soar by as much as 300 per cent.įrost damage to home-grown British crops such as carrots, cabbages, parsnips and cauliflowers also means many fields have been written off. Some farming campaigners say red tape associated with Brexit is also playing a part '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.' The Government needs to take this seriously. 'Our UK food resilience is currently gone. He told MailOnline: 'We are repeatedly seeing a predictable combination of factors such as energy costs and weather leading to empty supermarket shelves. Mr McMahon's comments were backed up by the NFU's vice president David Exwood. The Government could have responded much quicker to that and farmers feel very frustrated with the way they've been treated.' 'The reason you can't buy eggs on Pancake Day in many supermarkets is because of avian flu. That is a contributing factor to why there are gaps on the supermarket shelves. 'We do grow produce here but it's a matter of fact that we're not growing tomatoes for instance because the cost of energy in the greenhouses is so high that they've just been turned off. 'Why? Because the Government are not on the side of farmers or on the side of food security, and in the end, consumers are paying the price. 'You've got farmers who feel so frustrated that they haven't got government support and if you're a consumer you're going into the supermarket and seeing that shelves are empty,' he said. Shadow environment secretary Jim McMahon, who will speak at the National Farmers' Union (NFU) conference today, told Sky News how soaring energy costs in the UK were also a major reason for shortages. Industry expert Tim O'Malley said the single biggest factor behind the crisis was 'Mother Nature' and specifically volatile weather 'We have introduced a temporary limit of three of each product on a very small number of fruit and vegetable lines, so customers can pick up the products they are looking for.' The current shortage is likely to improve within a couple of weeks.'Īn Asda spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Like other supermarkets, we are experiencing sourcing challenges on some products that are grown in southern Spain and north Africa. It read: 'Availability across our tomato range has been significantly impacted by adverse weather conditions across Spain and Morocco. In one Morrisons store, staff put up a sign apologising for the disruption. Tomatoes and iceberg lettuce proved particularly difficult to buy. One couldn't get apples, another struggled with cabbages, a third was stumped for orange juice. Prices are going through the roof but a lack of basic foodstuffs is unacceptable.'Īfter sharing her concerns on social media, Ms Paterson-Jones was contacted by scores of other people from around Britain. 'Things can get bad during the summer when the tourists arrive, but nothing like this. 'Shortages have been getting worse in recent months but I was shocked to see so many empty shelves at 10am on a Saturday morning. 'It was the same in Aldi and Lidl, it seemed to be affecting all the supermarkets. In Morrisons I asked a young staff member what was going on and he said there was nothing in the back stores. She said: 'There was hardly any fresh produce in Tesco.
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