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LONDON — When EU leader Ursula von der Leyen visited the UK last week, some on social media joked: Can you bring us some tomatoes, please?
People in the UK have had to ration salads such as tomatoes and cucumbers over the past two weeks due to a shortage of fresh vegetables. The shelves of fresh produce in many stores have been empty and most major supermarkets have imposed limits on how many bags of lettuce or peppers customers can buy.
Officials blame recent poor weather in Spain and North Africa for the problem and say shortages could last for up to a month. However, many people were quick to point out that other European countries do not appear to be suffering from the same challenges, leading some to question whether this is a consequence of Britain’s split from the EU.
The UK government has rejected the suggestion that Brexit is to blame. But shoppers are not happy, and Environment Secretary Therese Coffey’s suggestion that consumers should “appreciate” British produce and eat more beets rather than imported food drew widespread derision.
Experts say Brexit has likely played a role in food shortages, although a number of more complex factors – including climate change, the UK’s over-reliance on winter imports, rising energy costs and competitive pricing strategies in UK supermarkets – are more salient explanations.
A look at some of the factors contributing to what one European broadcaster has dubbed Britain’s “vegetable fiasco”:
COLD WEATHER, HIGH ENERGY BILLS
Unusually cold temperatures in Spain and heavy rainfall and flooding in Morocco – two of the UK’s biggest suppliers of tomatoes – have resulted in poor yields and are cited as the main cause of the shortage.
In Spain, farmers blame the recent minus temperatures after record heat and drought last year.
In the southern province of Almeria, which accounts for 40% of Spain’s fresh vegetable exports, production of tomatoes, cucumbers and aubergines fell by over 20% in the first three weeks of February compared to the same period in 2022, according to FEPEX. an organization representing Spanish fruit and vegetable exporters. The group said the situation is improving.
Heat and drought in Europe last year also affected the vegetable harvest in other countries, including Germany.
Separately, the Netherlands, another big tomato producer, saw production fall as skyrocketing energy costs from the Russian war in Ukraine meant many growers couldn’t justify the cost of turning on the LED lights in their greenhouses this winter could.
Vegetable growers in the UK have reported that they too have been forced to leave their greenhouses empty.
Richard Diplock, managing director of Green House Growers in southern England, said his energy bills are about six times higher than in previous winters.
“We have made the decision that we cannot afford to heat the greenhouses in December and January and we have postponed planting until February. Many tomato growers are in a similar position,” he said.
The shortages in the UK – and contrasting images of full vegetable shelves in mainland Europe supermarkets – prompted some Brexit glee in some EU news outlets.
Experts say additional bureaucracy and costs associated with Brexit have played a role, although they stress it is not a major factor.
“One hypothesis for fewer exports to the UK is if supply is constrained, why bother with extra paperwork (to export to the UK)?” said Michael Winter, Professor of Agricultural Transition at the University of Exeter. “If the transaction costs of exporting to one country are higher compared to another, that will determine where you go.”
“Brexit has undoubtedly exaggerated the problem,” added Winter. “But I don’t want to overdo it. It has more to do with climate change and lack of investment in our industry.”
Farmers say another factor is that Britain’s largest supermarkets have tried to remain competitive by keeping prices as low as possible, even as food costs have skyrocketed, a key driver of inflation that is on the rise highest level in decades.
In some EU countries like Germany there are no empty shelves, but the prices of fresh vegetables have skyrocketed. UK supermarkets are reluctant to pay more or charge customers that much, Diplock said.
“In the UK, you know the price of a cucumber is 75p ($0.90) every week, no matter the time of year,” Diplock said. “North African and Spanish producers will get better returns supplying European supermarkets.”
“WHERE’S THE INVESTMENT?”
Even if energy costs hadn’t risen so sharply, UK producers wouldn’t come close to making up for shortfalls in imported produce, Diplock said.
During the winter UK domestic production accounts for just 5% or less of the tomatoes and cucumbers sold in UK supermarkets.
The National Farmers’ Union has been warning for months that the UK’s over-reliance on imported fresh produce is leaving it vulnerable to unpredictable weather events and other external factors such as the war in Ukraine.
Farmers have also complained about the lack of government investment in the sector and funding to help them deal with painfully high energy bills.
The government has spent billions to help consumers and businesses as Europe’s natural gas prices soared to record highs due to limited supplies from Russia.
“The bigger question is why have we neglected horticulture in this country,” Winter said. “That’s a little wake-up call.”
AP writers Joseph Wilson in Madrid and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.