SHOPPERS have spotted a lack of fresh fruit and vegetables on the shelves of supermarkets.
Chains are facing shortages on some produce, leaving customers unable to grab their greens.
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Asda, Morrisons, Tesco and Aldi have announced that they are rationing certain items.
The shortages of fresh produce have been caused by especially cold weather in both Spain and Morocco.
Plus farmers in the UK are growing less of some produce as they contend with rising costs.
We explain what products are affected, what you can still get and why you might see gaps in the aisles.
What fruit and veg is rationed?
Fresh fruit and veg are affected by the shortages, and that’s lead some shops to stick limits on how many you can buy.
By putting limits in place, supermarkets hope more shoppers will be able to get hold of the food they need.
It’s not all fresh produce, just certain items.
Here is the full list of products with buying limits in place right now:
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- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Cucumbers
- Lettuce
- Salad bags
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Raspberries
Aubergines could also be affected, the National Farmers Union (NFU) has said.
Plus spinach and spring onions are also affected by shortages, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) confirmed to The Sun.
But currently there are no buying limits in place for these three items at major supermarkets.
At Asda there’s a limit on all eight of these items.
You’ll only be able to buy three items of each of them right now at all the supermarket’s 630 stores.
Meanwhile Morrisons has put a cap of two items per person, on four of these items: tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, peppers.
You’ll be able to buy as many salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries as you’d like.
This applies at Morrisons 497 stores, though stock can vary between stores.
Aldi and Tesco have also imposed limits of three items per customer on three fresh produce items: peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes.
You’ll be able to but as many as you’d like, but again availability can vary.
The limits apply at all Tesco’s 2,829 stores and Aldi’s 990 stores.
There are not limits currently in place at Co-op, Sainsbury’s, Lidl, M&S and Waitrose.
Other fresh produce has not been rationed at supermarkets, but some shoppers have reported struggling to get hold of other items.
But remember levels of stock can vary from one day to the next, and from store to store.
Why are there fruit and veg shortages?
Vegetable harvests have been hit by floods, snow and hail in Spain and Morocco.
These harvests usually supply the bulk of the UK’s winter salad crop, leaving us short.
Over winter, Britain imports around 95% of its tomatoes and 90% of lettuces.
The majority of which come from the regions affected by bad weather.
In the UK, farmers have been hit by soaring prices of gas and fertiliser needed to grow crops and heat greenhouses.
The main items affected are those which are grown in glass houses, according to the National Farmers’ Union (NFU).
It warned production of salad ingredients in Britain would fall to the lowest levels since records began in 1985 because of rising costs.
This isn’t the first time shoppers have seen shortages on supermarket shelves because of unusual weather conditions.
Back in 2017, poor growing conditions in Europe – mostly Italy and Spain – meant there was a lack of vegetable stock for Brits.
Experts estimated the shortage would cost UK supermarkets at least £8million.
There was also concern in 2018 that an onion shortage could occur because of hot weather which damaged crops.
In the same year, hot weather also hindered the growth of peas.
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