Empty supermarket shelves due to bad weather in north Africa and Spain resulted in a shortage of food and vegetables in the united kingdom. The factor affecting shortages of food is weather and energy cost, according to David Exwood, president of the national farmers union voice.

Certain fresh vegetables and fruits are difficult to find in the UK due to poor weather as well as lower supplies from the UK. The majority of salad imports into the UK come from Spain, Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt. However, these crops were harmed by cold weather. Farmers are struggling with labor shortages, rising energy costs, inflation, supply chain issues, and climate change.

Cucumbers, lettuce, peppers, and tomatoes are now limited to two per item at Morrisons. Tesco and Aldi have set a limit of three packs of peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes per person. Broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, lettuce, peppers, raspberries, salad bags, and tomatoes are limited to three per customer at ASDA. Similar to other supermarkets, we are having trouble finding certain products that are grown in north Africa and southern Spain, said the spokesperson of ASDA.

The situation is especially bad in the poultry industry, which is already dealing with the effects of the bird flu outbreak. The country has experienced unusually high temperatures in both summer and winter, as well as drought in some areas, affecting crops and livestock. Jack Ward, CEO of the British Growers Association, explained the effects of energy prices saying, we did not plant because of increasing energy costs as a result we have become overly reliant on Spain and Morocco.

The current shortage is an indirect result of the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union. We didn’t used to source anything, or very little, from Morocco before Brexit, but we’ve been forced to go further afield, and now these climatic shocks are becoming more common have had a real impact on the food on our shelves today, said NFU’s deputy President.

Adopting sustainable farming practices and new technologies, such as on-farm renewable energy generation and carbon sequestration, is also essential to the industry’s long-term viability.  With many British tomato and salad growers delaying planting in recent months due to economic uncertainty, UK production will be unable to pick up the slack for several weeks, and will likely start later than in a normal year. Retailers are unable to obtain as much food as they require, or are forced to pay significantly higher prices for what is available. The greater the scarcity, the higher the food inflation.

Improving the resilience of the farming industry is heavily reliant on government policy. The NFU is urging the UK government to promote domestic food production and prioritize British farmers in trade negotiations. It has also urged it to handle food security as seriously as energy security.

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