Salad items to be rationed by 2 UK supermarkets

Oh that picture with empty boxes is stomach wrenching...I was thinking, well, tomatoes are summer fruit/veg...but immediately I rationalized, yes, but we are having them year-round, from greenhouses...yes, the gas prices...I'm sorry, I hope people will find creative and affordable ways to have fresh produce ...
We have tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers, peppers are silly expensive (5 eur per kg or so), but I don't buy them. I bought 2 large ('plastic' as Casey says) tomatoes last weekend, but we are still nibbling on the second one...and before that, I hadn't bought tomatoes, or peppers or cucumbers for long, possibly a month or even two months...we ate pickles. My daughter said she does not like the taste, or the absence of taste, in the cherry tomatoes, which she loved in the summer or in spring...so I stopped buying them...
We do buy fresh fruit and eat daily...and other vegetables...but sparingly. And it works fine so far. I hope it stays to some extent normal.
 
We tend to eat pretty seasonally so haven't really noticed any shortages so far, though this time of year we don't tend to eat much salad.

I've seen lots of reports blaming it all on the weather in southern Europe and Morocco. Some are also mentioning higher fuel bills for glasshouse crops...both of which seem to be accurate. But one aspect that's not really being reported very much in our press is that other European countries aren't seeing the same shortages. It seems that what supplies there are, are going to the internal EU market instead of being exported (which makes perfect sense). I read somewhere that the B***** plan was to make up for lower EU salad imports by importing from North Africa instead....but they have been equally (if not more) affected by the weather issues....what is it they say about putting all your eggs in one basket? :thumbsdown:
 
Tomato’s, cucumbers etc are summer veg so I’d hardly think they’d be missed by the majority who I would think are eating soups & stews at this time of year?


Australia is experiencing a root crop shortage due to the flooding. Potatoes & onions are especially expensive and you can’t find a frozen chip for life nor money.

Maccas must be packing bricks.
 
MrsDangermouse said:
We tend to eat pretty seasonally so haven't really noticed any shortages so far, though this time of year we don't tend to eat much salad.

I've seen lots of reports blaming it all on the weather in southern Europe and Morocco. Some are also mentioning higher fuel bills for glasshouse crops...both of which seem to be accurate. But one aspect that's not really being reported very much in our press is that other European countries aren't seeing the same shortages. It seems that what supplies there are, are going to the internal EU market instead of being exported (which makes perfect sense). I read somewhere that the B***** plan was to make up for lower EU salad imports by importing from North Africa instead....but they have been equally (if not more) affected by the weather issues....what is it they say about putting all your eggs in one basket? :thumbsdown:
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Exactly, I live in greenhouse central in the Netherlands and there are no shortages here by a long shot. The news article is not accurate. Nobody stopped producing anything here, maybe they're exporting a little less to the UK but that's only because of Brexit rules.

I saw this on a few UK groups I am a member of, and it seems that they (the newspapers) don't want to admit it's just because of import delays caused by Brexit.

combined with a reduction in the amount of crops planted in heated glasshouses in the Netherlands, another big producer country, as energy bills have soared.
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This quote from the article makes no sense, if that would have happened the greenhouse growers where I live would have caused a huge stink as they are already protesting about everything all the time. It's just not what's happening, the only explanation might be reduced exports to the UK.

The problems come as UK importers continue to struggle with the increased costs and paperwork caused by Brexit, which has added to hold-ups at the border.
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That, is the real issue.
 
Frizz1974 said:
Australia is experiencing a root crop shortage due to the flooding. Potatoes & onions are especially expensive and you can’t find a frozen chip for life nor money.

Maccas must be packing bricks.
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I've not seen issues in Canberra or surrounding area. Plenty of potatoes, fresh or frozen in chip form. I am seeing shortages in other areas, but not fresh produce though garlic is hard hit here, much smaller than normal if at all and imported from Spain or China. I don't know about the price of potatoes though because I grow my own usually. I'll look when I go shopping next time.

Sweetcorn has just doubled in price in a week however, so that's off our eating list and there has been no watermelon for over a week now. :scratchhead:
 
Windigo said:
I saw this on a few UK groups I am a member of, and it seems that they (the newspapers) don't want to admit it's just because of import delays caused by Brexit.
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Brexit.....its the gift that keeps on giving :thumbsdown: Given that that the referendum was so close, and there are apparently polls that suggest the majority of respondents are now in favour of remain/rejoin (I live in hope!), its remarkable how few news organisations dare criticise Brexit nowadays :mad: Or even suggest that maybe something negative (insert one of many examples here) has been caused/affected by it.

Even the BBC article on this topic mentions that "Other European countries appear less affected" but that "Brexit was unlikely to be a factor" according to industry sources....they don't bother to mention that other industry sources do claim that its a factor.
 
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And still we have it better than ~60% of the rest of humanity.
What helps me to not going depressed again is thinking about solutions. Work on a strong social network, sustainable workplace and the right informations, like what to invest the next few years, is crucial for me.

Everything this war and covid has done to me was slowing down my progress in the industry, that's pretty lucky in the end.
 
Two other supermarkets have joined in limiting purchases, but I have to ask, who buys more than three cucumbers at a time anyway?

This is due to blow over in a couple of weeks when the next wave of crops come through. Always worth asking with newspapers these days 'Am I reading about a real problem, or am I just falling for clickbait'.
 
The Velvet Curtain said:
, but I have to ask, who buys more than three cucumbers at a time anyway?
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Me.
Admittedly I buy Lebanese cucumbers but I buy 10 a week. It should drop to about 6-7 a week soon with my own cucumbers now starting to produce fruit. Same with tomatoes. We get through a reasonable volume of those, and peppers. Not so much on the lettuce front though. Ironically I don't eat much of it because they are usually just fillers for salads nothing more.

I I was buying continental cucumbers as the "normal" ones are called here in Australia, I'd be buying 4 or 5 at present, 3 minimum one my 4 cucumber pants start producing. I've just harvested my first 2 this week.
 
About 50 years ago, strawberries were only available in June; cherries from June/July, tomatoes from about May through to September, lettuces in the summer, etc, etc, etc. When you didn´t have fresh, you used frozen or, God Forbid, tins, or you just did without.
No - I´m not advocating a return to the dark ages, but it does make me think that folks are just impatiently accommodating these days. Why can´t they just use a little bit of creativity, and use what IS available? No tomatoes or lettuce for salad? OMG!! HOW ON EARTH AM I GOING TO MAKE MY SAINSBURY´S BURGER??? Don´t make it - think of something else. Coleslaw? Beetroot and walnut salad?
Second thing, of course, is than when there´s a shortage of something, 51% of all Brits go into "Moan Mode". It´s all Brexits fault. It´s those damn people "over there" who aren´t working hard enough! The truck drivers - they don´t care. If this government had done XXX, then this wouldn´t have happened. Don´t blame or look for excuses - resolve.
That, of course, will be my motto when I challenge the local useless MP at the next election. HAHAHAHA!!
 
MrsDangermouse said:
Brexit.....its the gift that keeps on giving :thumbsdown: Given that that the referendum was so close, and there are apparently polls that suggest the majority of respondents are now in favour of remain/rejoin (I live in hope!), its remarkable how few news organisations dare criticise Brexit nowadays :mad: Or even suggest that maybe something negative (insert one of many examples here) has been caused/affected by it.

Even the BBC article on this topic mentions that "Other European countries appear less affected" but that "Brexit was unlikely to be a factor" according to industry sources....they don't bother to mention that other industry sources do claim that its a factor.
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My very first reaction to the news of the salad shortages was... Brexit. :laugh:

CD
 
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