Supermarkets in Oxford have been hit by the fruit and vegetable shortage which is sweeping the United Kingdom as a local grocer reports an increase in prices.
UK supermarkets are facing a shortage of tomatoes after bad weather in Europe and Africa disrupted supplies.
Shoppers across the country have been sharing their frustration on social media after being unable to find tomatoes at their local stores.
READ MORE: 'Village is already full': Residents object to plans to build 80 homes
This has extended to Oxfordshire, with supermarkets running low on fruit and vegetable stocks on Wednesday, February 22.
Although the Aldi supermarket in Botley Road had several packets of tomatoes on offer, it had run out of stocks of peppers.
Waitrose on the same road was also running low on peppers whilst Iceland and the Coop on West Way along with Asda in Carterton had many empty fruit and vegetable baskets.
Local grocers Pickle & Lime, Botley Road, has reported that whilst they are still able to order stock it has increased dramatically in price.
ALSO READ: Police want to speak to this man over parcels stolen from city centre home
Owner, Joe Devlin said: "I can get most products but the prices are on the up.
"The prices are going up because of the problems with the weather in Spain and Morroco.
"We still have most things, some of the exotic things I don't bother with but hopefully we can get some nice weather and the tomatoes will be growing okay again."
Asda has introduced a customer limit of three on tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries, and Morrisons said it would be introducing limits of two items per customer across tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, peppers from today.
Other supermarkets are understood to be considering similar temporary measures.
It is understood that retailers believe the problems stem from poor yields on the continent and north Africa, and that supplies will improve in the coming days or weeks.
An Asda spokesman said: “Like other supermarkets, we are experiencing sourcing challenges on some products that are grown in southern Spain and north Africa.
“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.”
Around 400,000 tonnes of tomatoes are imported from around the world and these mainly come from Morocco, Spain and the Netherlands.
READ MORE: Kaleb from Clarkson's Farm gives his one condition for going on I'm a Celebrity
Growers and suppliers in Morocco have had to contend with cold temperatures, heavy rain, flooding and cancelled ferries over the past three to four weeks – all of which have affected the volume of fruit reaching Britain.
These were compounded by ferry cancellations due to bad weather, affecting lorry deliveries.
Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, which represents UK supermarkets, said: “Difficult weather conditions in the south of Europe and northern Africa have disrupted harvest for some fruit and vegetables including tomatoes and peppers.
“While disruption is expected to last a few weeks, supermarkets are adept at managing supply chain issues and are working with farmers to ensure that customers are able to access a wide range of fresh produce.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel