Britain is also on the path of Pakistan. There is also a shortage of fruits and vegetables here. Alam is that the limit has been fixed in the supermarket. That is, despite paying money, you cannot buy things like potatoes, and tomatoes in large quantities. You can't buy more than 2 potatoes or tomatoes in Britain's biggest supermarket.
Supermarket shelves in the UK are empty. This is not a matter of any one UK supermarket, but almost all of them. The UK economy is going through a recession. Along with this, inflation is also at its peak. Meanwhile, now the shortage of food items is worrying.
Why has the UK supermarket banned buying more than 2 fruits and vegetables?
Britain's 4 biggest supermarkets Morrisons, Asda, Aldi, and Tesco have set limits on fresh fruit and vegetables. These include perishable fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, capsicum, and broccoli. That is, if a person wants to buy tomatoes, then he can buy only 2 to 3 tomatoes and not a kilo.
Asda, Britain's third-largest grocery store, was the first to set the limit. After this, Aldi and Tesco also joined it along with Morrison by Wednesday. Fruit and vegetables are already missing from shops in East London, Liverpool, and many parts of the UK.
Asda stores have introduced limits on items such as tomatoes, capsicum, cucumbers, lettuce, bagged lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, and raspberries. No more than 3 of these items can be bought from Asda stores. At Morrison's, customers can pick up no more than 2 servings of vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and bell peppers.
The British Retail Consortium, which represents major supermarkets including Tesco and Sainsbury's, said the issue of supply was looming large. Pictures of empty shelves in supermarkets are going viral on social media.
After all, what is the reason for the lack of fruit and vegetables in the UK?
In fact, in winter Britain imports about 90% of items such as cucumbers and tomatoes, that is, orders from other countries. The UK produces only 5% of its tomatoes and 10% of its lettuce during these months. In such a situation, it becomes necessary for the supermarket to keep stock.
What has happened is that the crops have not been good this time in the countries from where these things come. Along with this, there has been a decrease in yield due to the agricultural crisis in Britain. In such a situation, there has been a huge shortage of these items in Britain.
In South Europe and North Africa, many crops have not been harvested due to bad weather. The UK's main winter supplies of these items come from Morocco and Spain, which are experiencing extraordinary weather.
Fruits could not be supplied from Morocco. The reason is, Morocco has been battling heavy winter, rain, and floods for the last three to four weeks. The ripening of tomatoes is getting delayed due to excessive cold. For this reason, the supply has stopped.
Along with this, due to bad weather, there has been a decrease in the frequency of sea vessels. Many experts are apprehensive that Morocco may reduce the export of tomatoes, onions, and potatoes because of its food needs. This crisis can increase further.
The weather has also affected the fruits and vegetables imported from Spain. Tomato production has decreased by 22% this time compared to February last year in the Almeria region. Due to this, the producers of Spain are also very upset.
The Association of Fruit and Vegetable Producers' Organization of Almería Coexfal said the situation is starting to become worrying, as some companies are having problems meeting their customers' supplies.
Supply has also been affected locally in the UK. Production of this fruit and vegetables in the UK usually starts in late March or April. However, labor shortages and rising electricity prices have forced British farmers to close greenhouses because they cannot afford the electricity.
When will this crisis of fruits and vegetables end?
Experts say that after the decrease in these items in the last weeks, this problem is expected to increase further. Minette Batters, president of Britain's National Farmers Union, or NFU, said that everyone wants to avoid rationing, as we saw with eggs in December. I think that in the coming days, there may be a lot of shortage of some items.
According to the NFU, after 1985, there has been the biggest reduction in the supply of salad ingredients like tomatoes and cucumbers. The number of peppers and other salad vegetables that are grown indoors has decreased significantly. There are also concerns about the production of potatoes, cauliflower, and broccoli. However, the NFU has warned against panic buying.
Ollie Harrison, the owner of Water Lane Farm in Merseyside, North West England, says supermarkets and stores will have to get used to seeing empty shelves. People will have to start eating something seasonal again like tomatoes because they cannot be grown without outside help. This is a simple matter. If electricity is needed to grow something and its cost is increasing continuously, then no one will grow it.
Andrew Opie, the BRC's director of food and sustainability, said the crisis was expected to last for a few more weeks. He said supermarkets are working with farmers to resolve supply chain issues.
James Bailey, executive director of the supermarket Waitrose, says the crisis could ease after two weeks. It is snowing in Spain. It was raining hail in North Africa last week. Due to this, crops have been damaged on a large scale. In such a situation, it will take some time to improve the supply.
Who has been told by the farmers of Britain to be responsible for this crisis?
Jack Ward, head of the British Growers' Association, says farmers are not getting enough money for their produce. This is harming them. In such a situation, there was already less expectation of yield. Also, the retailers could not assure the help to farmers that they will give you the price you need. In such a situation, the farmers did not grow the crop due to the fear of high cost.
The government has been criticized for failing to protect UK farmers from rising electricity prices. Britain's Farmers Union has said that the Royal Botanic Gardens are being given more facilities than vegetable growers. That is, the British government bears the cost of the electricity used for the Royal Botanical Garden, but no relief is given to the farmers.
Has inflation led to starvation-like conditions in Britain?
Due to inflation in Britain, the condition of starvation has become similar to that of Pakistan. Forget about the common people there, even teachers, health workers, and pensioners are not able to afford their food. Along with the common people, teachers, health workers, and pensioners also have to depend on food banks.
In December 2022 and January 2023, people sought maximum help from the Food Bank. Around 154 organizations run food banks in the UK, which distribute free meals to people. Independent Food Aid Network i.e. IFAN has prepared this report based on the data of 90% of food banks.
The 85 organizations operating food banks reported that when the number of people asking for food increased, they cut down on food several times and also turned away many people who came to ask for food.
The largest food bank in Britain is being run by an organization named The Trussell Trust. It has more than 1300 food banks. According to the trust, it distributed 1.3 million emergency food packets between April and September last year.
According to statistics, so far more than 3 lakh 20 thousand people have gone to the Food Bank for food. Compared to the year 2021, this number is one-third more, while compared to the pre-pandemic, it is 50% more.
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