The shortage of fruit and vegetables plaguing the UK appears not to be affecting the rest of Europe, as British shoppers face the prospect of leeks being added to the growing list of rationed produce.
Shoppers in Britain have seen tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables rationed, as the government blames bad weather and harvesting problems in Morocco and Spain for shortages.
But Copa-Cogeca, an umbrella group for European farmers, said that there were no supply problems in EU countries.
“Currently, we are not experiencing any shortages in the EU,” a Copa-Cogeca spokeswoman told The National.
“While there has been a squeeze on the supply, due to weather conditions in Spain and the decreased production in Northern Europe, due to high energy prices for greenhouse growers, the supply to the retailers has been managed.
“The EU market is much more flexible, so we have witnessed some increase in price to consumers, although not enough to offset the increase of the cost of production.
“The fact is that the EU production at such time is simply more likely to remain in the internal market.”
The UK government has blamed high temperatures and a lack of rain followed by a period of cold weather for creating one of the most difficult growing seasons ever, but the Copa-Cogeca spokeswoman said shortages in the country have been caused by “a multitude of reasons”.
“It is most likely a result of limited national production, which is currently under pressure due to high energy prices and not enough assistance from the government in combination with the adverse weather events in Morocco and Spain, on which UK is highly dependent,” she said.
And Brexit has not helped the situation, the spokeswoman added.
“For EU producers, at least, it is way more practical to export within the EU market, so in a situation like this, where production in the EU is also affected, the exports suffer.”
Leek growers have warned that some people may not be able to buy British-grown leeks on St David's Day, a celebration of the patron saint of Wales on March 1.
The vegetable is a national emblem for Wales, used to make traditional dishes such as Welsh cawl and Wrexham bake. Legend has it that Welsh soldiers fighting off the Saxon enemy in 640 AD wore leeks in their hats to easily identify each other.
British retailers believe the shortages of leeks and other produce could take weeks to fix.
“Difficult weather conditions in the south of Europe and northern Africa have disrupted harvest for some fruit and vegetables including tomatoes and peppers,” said Andrew Opie of the British Retail Consortium.
“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.”
