Asda and Morrisons ration fruit and veg amid supply shortages

Asda and Morrisons have restricted the amount of certain fruit and vegetables that customers can purchase amid ongoing supply shortages for fresh produce.

Asda has limited tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries to three of each item per customer.

Similarly, Morrisons said it would introduce a limit of two items per customer across tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and peppers.

An Asda spokesperson told Retail Sector “Like other supermarkets, we are experiencing sourcing challenges on some products that are grown in southern Spain and North Africa. We have introduced a temporary limit of three of each product on a very small number of fruit and vegetable lines, so customers can pick up the products they are looking for.”

According to the British Retail Consortium, the UK imports around 95% of its tomatoes and 90% of its lettuces, most of it from Spain and north Africa, during winter months. 

Andrew Opie, Director of Food and Sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, 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.”

It comes as the National Farmers Union (NFU) president Minette Batters warned Sky News that the production of some British vegetables grown in glasshouses was on the decline due to high energy costs. 

Batters told Sky: “Everybody wants to avoid rationing, effectively, which is what we saw with eggs in December. But I think there are going to be challenges on availability of some food items, including peppers and other salad vegetables grown indoors, and “field veg” such as potatoes, cauliflower and purple sprouting broccoli could also be impacted.

“This is, of course, all driven by the price of gas, which has come down, but is still three times higher than it was in 2019.”

Asda and Morrisons have been contacted for further comment.