Curb exotic fruit habit, shoppers told

BUYING pi neapples in November is a luxury that many of us take for granted.

But middle-class shoppers may need to start settling for home- grown apples and pears, a study has warned, as Britain’s supply of exotic fruit and vegetables dries up because of climate change.

A study from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine published in the j ournal Nature Food found that the proportion of the UK’S fruit and vegetable supply that is grown domestically has fallen from 42 per cent in 1987 to 22 per cent in 2013.

Almost a third of fruit and vegetable imports come from “climate vulnerable” countries, where growth and supply chains are likely to be severely disrupted by climate change, up from one in five in 1987.

Dr Pauline Scheelbeek, the study’s lead author, said that people now expected exotic foods all year round, even if they were not in season. “The whole idea of seas onality, that you make certain dishes in winter and not in summer or vice versa doesn’t really exist anymore,” she said.

Over-50s and higher-earners were more likely to buy exotic foreign fruits and vegetables, most likely because of their higher cost, Dr Scheelbeek said adding that supermarket produce should be labelled with a sustainability score to give buyers more information about its origins.

The re s earchers pinpointed Colombia and Ecuador as well as India and Egypt as sources of foods that were particularly vulnerable to climate change.

Berries and citrus fruits were particularly likely to come from the most vulnerable areas.

Farmers in Colombia, a major exporter of bananas to Europe, have been hit hard by drought in recent years, while in Egypt, which sends grapes, sweet potatoes and onions to the UK, concerns have been raised about water security.