Business
Tesco and Aldi to ration some vegetables due to supply shortages
Tesco and Aldi are limiting how many peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes customers can buy due to supply shortages.
It follows measures introduced by Morrisons and Asda on Tuesday to temporarily limit the purchase of some fruit and vegetables.
An Aldi spokesperson said: “We are limiting purchases of peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes to three units per person to ensure that as many customers as possible can buy what they need.”
Aldi has said it will ration certain vegetables for customers
Asda has limited the purchase of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries to three per customer.
A spokesperson for Asda said: “Like other supermarkets, we are experiencing sourcing challenges on some products that are grown in southern Spain and North Africa.”
Meanwhile, Morrisons said customers can purchase just two items each of tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers and peppers.
Other supermarkets are understood to be considering similar limits.
The British Retail Consortium said poor weather in southern Europe and northern Africa has disrupted crops including tomatoes and peppers.
Growers in Morocco have struggled with low temperatures, flooding and heavy rain, which also resulted in ferry cancellations and further delays in the supply chain.
Meanwhile, Spanish crops have been hit with bad weather in the past three to four weeks.
Britain typically imports 95% of its tomatoes and 90% of lettuces from December to March, according to the consortium.
Supplies of British-grown vegetables have also been rationed however as farmers struggle with high energy costs.
The availability of fruit and vegetables grown in heated and covered buildings in the UK, including cucumbers and tomatoes, has fallen in recent months, according to the National Farmers’ Union.
It also said vegetables grown in fields, such as cauliflowers, potatoes and purple-sprouted broccoli may also be impacted.