British supermarkets ration vegetable sales amid shortages

A number of British supermarket chains announced on Wednesday that they were imposing purchase limits on certain fruits and vegetables.

Supermarkets cited disrupted harvests in southern Europe and northern Africa as the reason for the rationing.

Tesco, the UK's largest chain, has imposed a buying limit of three items per customer on tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.

The British branch of the German chain Aldi announced the same measure, and Morrisons imposed limits on the same three vegetables as well as lettuce.

A day earlier, Asda imposed purchase limits on a total of eight lines of fruits and vegetables. The produce now rationed by the chain includes tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, bagged salad, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries.

Why have British supermarkets imposed purchasing limits for produce?

While opponents of the UK decision to leave the European Union blame Brexitfor empty shelves not seen in much of continental Europe, industry experts say the shortages are due to bad weather.

"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, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium. The group represents all of the UK's major supermarkets.

"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," he said.

Opie added that the disruption is expected to last a few weeks.

Spain has had unusually cold weather over the past month. Farmers in southern Spain saw ferries canceled, which aggravated supply problems.

Similarly, growers and suppliers in Morocco reported reduced produce volumes due to cold temperatures, heavy rain and flooding.

sdi/sms (Reuters, AP, AFP)