UK Tomato Shortage Should Be Resolved in a Month: Minister

Tomatoes are displayed for sale inside a supermarket in London on Aug. 7, 2019. Henry Nicholls/Reuters

Shortages of tomatoes and other vegetables in UK supermarkets will be a temporary issue that should be resolved in two to four weeks, Environment Secretary Therese Coffey has said.

Major supermarkets such as Tesco, Aldi, Asda, and Morrisons have introduced customer limits on tomatoes and some other fresh produce, after a combination of bad weather and transport problems in Africa and Europe caused supply shortages.

Responding to an urgent question in the House of Commons on Thursday, Coffey said: “I am led to believe by my officials, after discussion with industry and retailers, we anticipate the situation will last about another two to four weeks.”

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey speaking during the National Farmers' Union Conference at the ICC, Birmingham, on Feb. 22, 2023. Jacob King/PA Media

She said the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) is in discussion with retailers on finding alternative sourcing options.

“Even if we cannot control the weather, it is important that we try and make sure the supply continues to not be frustrated in quite the way it has been due to these unusual weather incidents.”

Supermarket Restrictions

An initial shortage of tomatoes affecting UK supermarkets has since widened to other fruit and vegetables.

On Wednesday, Tesco, the UK’s biggest supermarket introduced a temporary buying limit of three items per customer on tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers.

The supermarket said it was working hard with its suppliers to ensure a good supply of vegetables for customers in light of temporary supply challenges.

Aldi, a German-owned supermarket chain, has also placed limits on fresh produce.

An Aldi spokeswoman 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.”

Asda has introduced a customer limit of three on tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower, and raspberries, and Morrisons has set a limit of two items per customer across tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and peppers.

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 the 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.

“In the meantime, some stores are introducing temporary limits on the number of products customers can buy to ensure availability for everyone.”

Energy Prices

Over the past three to four weeks, growers and suppliers in Morocco have had to contend with cold temperatures, heavy rain, flooding, and cancelled ferries– all of which have affected the volume of fruit and vegetables reaching Britain.

Supplies from Britain’s other major winter source, Spain, have also been badly affected by weather.

These were compounded by ferry cancellations due to bad weather, affecting lorry deliveries.

On Wednesday, Coffey told delegates at the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) conference “we can’t control the weather in Spain,” when confronted with the news that supermarkets were limiting sales of fruit and vegetables.

But NFU said that some local producers have had to cut back on their use of greenhouses due to higher electricity prices.

The union called on the government to offer more support to intensive energy users, such as tomato and salad growers.

NFU president Minette Batters criticised how botanical gardens receive support with energy bills for their glasshouses but food producers with greenhouses do not.

The main opposition Labour Party also said weather is not the only cause of the shortages and that energy prices and labour shortages were also to blame.

Labour’s shadow environment secretary Jim McMahon said on Thursday that there is “genuine public concern about the availability of food.”

He said ministers could have done more to support farmers with access to “the energy-intensive support scheme,” and could have increased quotas on overseas labourers.

British Tomato Season ‘Will Soon Begin’

As temperatures are expected to get warmer, consumers have been reassured they can expect to see “significant volumes” of British tomatoes on supermarket shelves by the end of March.

The British Tomato Growers Association (BTGA) said on Thursday that shortages are mainly down to a lack of imports but the local growing season is due to begin soon.

The BTGA said in a statement: “Many people have commented on the current lack of fresh tomatoes in some supermarket stores.

“Whilst this is predominantly a consequence of the lack of imported product at this time of year, the British season will soon begin and we expect significant volumes of British tomatoes on shelves by the end of March and into April 2023.

“The British tomato season runs from the end of March until November each year.”

PA Media contributed to this report.