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City supermarkets have been left struggling to fill their fresh fruit and veg shelves due to “difficult weather conditions” in southern Europe and Northern Africa.
The city’s MSP, Evelyn Tweed, was contacted by constituents who raised concerns over the availability of the fresh produce – particularly tomatoes and peppers.
Ms Tweed has taken those concerns to a number of Stirling’s supermarkets, including Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
The Brisith Retail Consortium (BRC) – the trade association for UK retail businesses – has blamed the challenging weather conditions in Europe and Africa – where much of the produce is grown – for the shortage but says it hopes the issue will be resolved in a matter of weeks.
Ms Tweed this week told the Observer: “I was concerned to hear of the lack of fresh fruit and vegetables available in supermarkets in the Stirling area. These issues seem to be widespread and as a result of a combination of several complicated factors. Severe weather in the north of Africa and Spain is causing issues with supply, and British farmers are struggling to plug the gap. I have reached out to both supermarkets (Tesco and Sainsbury’s) to raise this issue. When I spoke to them, Sainsbury’s advised that they had dealt with their stock issues locally, however there are ongoing issues that Tesco are working to fix as soon as possible. Independent local grocers have assured me that they are well stocked and I would encourage constituents to support local businesses and shop local.
“The Scottish Government has committed to supporting food production here in Scotland, and I will continue to raise these issues until they are resolved and encourage constituents to get in touch if they need support.”
The Observer contacted Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons for comment who deferred to the BRC, citing that the shortage is an industry-wide problem.
Andrew Opie, Director of Food and Sustainability at the BRC said: “Difficult weather conditions in the South of Europe and Northern Africa have disrupted harvest for some fruit and vegetables including tomatoes and peppers.
“While disruption is expected to last a few weeks, supermarkets are adept at managing supply chain issues and are working with farmers to ensure that customers are able to access a wide range of fresh produce. In the meantime, some stores are introducing temporary limits on the number of products customers can buy to ensure availability for everyone.”
The severe weather conditions in recent months damaged crops that would normally supply the UK through the winter. Transport routes have also been disrupted, and high gas prices have led to less being grown in heated greenhouses in Britain and the Netherlands.
Faced with bare shelves, Asda has asked each customer to buy no more than three packs of some vegetables. Morrisons has put a two-per-customer limit on some products and Tesco has introduced a temporary limit of three items per customer on tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers as a precautionary measure.