LONDON – For once Brexit has nothing to do with it, but for the United Kingdom it’s still pain. The shelves are once again empty of fruit and vegetables, to the point that some supermarkets have run for cover, forcing customers to ration.
Rationalized spending
Asda, the third largest supermarket chain in the country, has, for example, introduced a maximum of three packs of tomatoes at the grocery store, Morrison even two. The same type of measures concern peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, broccoli, raspberries. The neighboring Republic of Ireland has also been similarly affected by this situation.
Bad weather and energy costs are responsible
The first responsible for what is happening is the bad weather which, with unusual cold and hailstorms, hit both Morocco and Spain (i.e. the areas from which the two islands obtain 90-95% of the food listed above in winter).
According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), shortages are expected to last a few weeks until the season kicks off in the UK and retailers find alternative sources of supply. But there is also an issue related to energy costs, as highlighted by the president of the National Farmer Union, Minette Batters. According to the latter, supplies of UK greenhouse lettuce are dwindling because high energy prices are making it uneconomic for some growers. In the past, lettuce growers operated all year round, albeit at reduced levels in winter. The trade association therefore asked the government to support their energy costs through the exemption scheme for energy-intensive industries, from which growers are excluded.
The problem of cutting agricultural subsidies
Batters added that post-Brexit cuts in farm subsidies, coupled with sharp increases in commodity, labor and energy prices, are leading to output declines in other sectors of agriculture, including eggs. Almost 1 billion fewer eggs will be produced in 2023 than in 2019.
Brexit remains a major nuisance
Although, as mentioned, this time the situation is not due to the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, which in this case remains more of a bad background noise, on social media it’s all about giving against Brexit which, it appears now to the majority of Britons, not work as hoped. According to the latest polls, over 60% of those interviewed believe that the economy has worsened since the departure from Brussels. One thing is certain: inflation is particularly felt in the shopping cart. If on average it is around 10%, in the case of basic foodstuffs it can even reach 15%. And in this case yes, Brexit has something to do with it for all the customs delays it has caused and which, inevitably, have caused prices to rise.