England Alami The Scarcity Of Tomatoes Due To Panen And Import Disorders

JAKARTA - The UK faces a shortage of tomatoes after supplies to supermarkets, including market leaders Tesco and Sacibury's, hit by disrupted harvests in southern Europe and North Africa.

Photos circulating on social media show empty fruit and vegetable shelves, with tomatoes in particular supply shortages.

wholesalers say this condition is exacerbated by reduced winter production in greenhouses in the UK and Netherlands due to high energy costs.

Andrew Opie, director of food & sustainability at the British Retail Consortium (BRC) representing major supermarkets, said the difficult weather in southern Europe and northern Africa had disrupted various crops, including tomatoes and peppers.

"Although this disruption is expected to last for several weeks, supermarkets are already proficient in managing supply chain issues and working with farmers, to ensure that customers can access a wide variety of fresh products," he explained.

Although mostly self-sufficiency in the summer, the UK typically imports 95 percent of tomatoes and 90 percent ofcress from December to March, according to BRC data.

Not only in the UK, Spanish producers also expressed concern.

"The situation is starting to worry, as some companies are starting to experience problems in meeting their clients' schedules," Coexphal's Association of Almera Fruit and Vegetable Manufacturers said in a statement.

Meanwhile, James Bailey, executive director of the Waitrose high-end supermarket, said supplies had been hit hard by extreme weather in Spain and northern Africa.

"It has snowed and hailed in Spain, hail in North Africa last week, which wiped out most of the plants," he told LBC radio, adding supplies would improve slowly.

"Give about two weeks and another planting season in other parts of the world will follow. We should be able to get that supply back," he said.

Separately, a spokesman for Asda, a supermarket in England, said it had some problems with a small number of products, especially tomatoes. This grocery store still has a wide selection of fresh tomatoes in its stores, although not all variants are available.

Dan Fulgoni, managing director at Euro Frutta, fruit and vegetable distributor at the New Covent Garden Market, London said it was trying not to continue to increase the price of imported tomatoes to its customers.

"We are experiencing a shortage of supplies in many products, including tomatoes," he told The National News.

"Regarding tomatoes, we can only meet our demand but have to pay a higher price, as demand exceeds supply," he continued.

Last year, wholesalers in the UK experienced supply disruptions due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but availability improved before Christmas, except for eggs.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Morocco banned exports of onions and potatoes to West African countries to reduce domestic prices and protect exports to Europe.