Online reports suggest that some retailers, including Asda and Morrisons, have lifted limits on the number of certain salad and vegetable items that customers can buy in a single transaction.
According to the BBC, limits on the number of cucumbers will be lifted at Morrisons, while restrictions on items including cucumbers, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and salad leaves have been lifted at Asda. Restrictions of three per person on tomatoes and peppers at Asda will remain.
Supermarkets claimed the restrictions were necessary during recent shortages to ensure as many customers as possible could buy what they needed. However, many industry observers said the restrictions were aimed at stopping caterers and shop owners buying vegetables which were cheaper on supermarket shelves than on wholesale markets. In many cases restricted items were simply not available to buy, prompting many shoppers to share their frustrations and pictures of empty shelves on social media.
Lidl has also said that it is lifting restrictions on the sale of fruit and vegetables as supply issues begin to ease. In contrast, growers have suggested that even if crops such as tomatoes and cucumbers become more available as the delayed UK season gets underway, other crops such as carrots and leeks could see shortages within months, with lower availability of apples and potatoes in the longer term.
“Supply varies from crop to crop, and there are a couple of reasons for this,” said Jack Ward, CEO of the British Growers Association. “In the cold spell before Christmas a lot crops were destroyed, but some like carrots and leeks the damage was done during the drought in the summer and volumes are down around 30%.”
“We will always rely on imports to some degree for produce we can’t grow here, or to ensure diversity of supply,” NFU deputy president Tom Bradshaw told Sky News. But “as global volatility increases, it’s imperative the government focuses on building resilient domestic food supply chains.”