Asda and Morrisons, two of the biggest supermarket chains in the nation, have restricted the sales of some fruits and vegetables.
The reason is due to the unfavorable weather in Europe and Africa as well as the effects that high electricity prices are having on food produced in the UK and the Netherlands.
For some fruits and vegetables, Asda has set a limit of three items per customer.
It applies to raspberry punnets, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, salad bags, cucumbers, broccoli, and cauliflower.
For cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, and peppers, Morrisons has set a limit of two per customer.
Although it is unclear whether this is due to their popularity, tomato and pepper lines appear to be suffering the most at both retailers.
According to trade association British Retail Consortium (BRC), the UK imports 90% of its lettuce and 95% of its tomatoes during the winter, with the majority coming from Spain and North Africa.
However, there has been unusually cold weather in Southern Spain, floods in Morocco have reduced crop yields, and storms have caused ferries to be delayed or cancelled.
In an effort to safeguard exports to Europe, it led to Morocco banning the export of potatoes, tomatoes, and onions to West African nations earlier this month.
The Netherlands and the UK both supply the UK with a large amount of produce at this time of year. However, due to rising electricity prices, farmers in both nations have reduced their use of greenhouses for growing winter crops.
Until the UK growing season starts and supermarkets find alternative sources of supply, the shortages are only anticipated to last "a few weeks," according to the BRC.
The article continued by saying that supermarkets were "adept" at handling problems with the supply chain and collaborated with farmers to make sure there was enough fresh produce for customers.
According to anecdotal evidence, the UK has been the hardest hit by the shortages, though Ireland has also reportedly experienced issues. It seems like other European nations are less affected.
According to industry sources, the UK may be suffering as a result of decreased domestic production, more complicated supply chains, and a price-sensitive market.
But they claimed that Brexit was not likely to play a role.
New border controls for the import of fruits and vegetables won't really take effect until January 2024, but border checks are already in place for imports from Morocco, a country outside the EU.
