Lidl is the latest store to ration fruit and veg

LIDL yesterday became the latest supermarket to ration fruit and vegetables as ministers hauled in Britain’s major grocers for talks about tackling the shortage.

The German discount chain followed rivals Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Aldi in imposing customer purchase limits on tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, but stressed it continues to have ‘good availability’ of the items across the majority of its stores.

It came as food and farming minister Mark Spencer asked retailers ‘what they are doing to get shelves stocked again’ after supplies were hit by disrupted harvests in southern Europe and north Africa.

He said: ‘The current situation shows how dependent we can be on certain trade routes for some types of food.’