Supermarkets not willing to pay the price for heating greenhouses in this country since energy prices went up- so UK producers haven’t bothered. Leaving them dependent on imports and the slings and arrows of Brexits outrageous fortunes.
The only fruit or veg they seem to have had trouble getting at Tesco is peppers. Not sure why, maybe they're produced in the EU.
We have had campaigns for years about getting people to eat 5 a day,it must have finally worked with this desperation of people to get their hands on a courgette
I'll try to post a picture later (if the upload works), we'll be going to a supermarket or two later down at Motril.
Pretty sure that is Italy and, yes, it could be recent since a lot of older Italians are still 'masking up' when they go to crowded markets. In all medical centres, GP waiting rooms (yes you still get face to face consultations without needing an appointment) hospitals etc. masks are mandatory albeit whilst Covid is still around, the flu virus has been particularly active this winter due to the mild spring like weather we have had apart from a couple of days of snow. Italy tends not to go short on fruit and veg as places like Puglia, Sicily and Umbria in particular cover the domestic supply . Prices have increased and the cheaper foreign imports that sit alongside 'produced in Italy' labelled stuff are less plentiful but many Italians go for the Italian stuff anyway even if it is a bit more expensive. I suspect less is available for export though. One important difference not mentioned is that Italy still seems to have 'seasonal produce' mentality so, unlike UK where everything seems to be available all year round, certain fruits and veg or varieties of veg are only around at certain times of year. e.g. Root vegetables in winter, peas, green beans etc in spring and summer. That is how I remember it was when I was young. Nowadays people in UK expect and get exotics like avocados all year round, and fruit and veg from far away places like Chile. 'Zero kilometres' is becoming a thing here. Many chain supermarkets operate where local suppliers supply the supermarkets and shops in their local area rather than centralised operations. Obviously things are a little more expensive that way but everything is ultra-fresh and unpackaged. Potatoes often still have soil on them (which means they keep better when you get them home anyway). I never realised how 'old' supposedly fresh veg in UK shops was until we moved here. That 'England my England' account is either trolling, is a parody, clickbait or created by someone incredibly dense if he/she/they holds all those beliefs as it manages a 'full house' of stupidity.
We were out for a meal the other night and the bar didn’t have cucumber for a Hendricks G&T , absolutely scandalous
Just been to a customer who supplies dried fruit and vegetables in bulk to the food industry and they had a yard full of pallets of Peaches and Tomatoes.
As Promised, pictures from Motril Alcampo supermarket this morning. I assure you these are genuine photos taken by me.
Same here in Italy... Suspect nearly everything you see there is sourced in Spain or Southern Italy North Africa where stuff grows all year round (unless there are droughts or floods). Brexit may have some impact but shortages ARE mostly down to the UK climate where salads and tomatoes don't exactly thrive except over a few short months. Obviously Spain and Italy harvests were hit last summer so much of what was available jhas been sold locally and exports are well down. People forget UK is a small Island nation in Northern Europe and much of what people expect and demand nowadays has to be imported. Mediterranean countries can rely less on imports.
Im sorry but you really are out of touch I have looked into this a bit and the following seem to be true statements 1.The only countries in Europe with shortages are England Scotland and Wales 2. Holland for example has a glut of tomatoes but cant get truck drivers to take them to England because its just too much hassle with hours of queueing to get through the ports 3 England has some of the largest greenhouses in Europe but they are not currently being used because this year the heating costs are now far too high to make it econonic to run them and there is a shortage of labour to pick the produce anyway 4. There was a cold spell in Spain and morocco which has reduced supply by around 10 -15% but this is a minor cause of problems other than when things are a bit tight its just too much hassle to try and take them into UK and get back out again. So in order of impact 1. Brexit - customs border and big processing queues making firms put UK at the bottom of the priority list 2. UK energy pricing policy - means we arent producing our own because heating costs are too high 3. Brexit - lack of labour to pick produce ... 10 Cold snap in Spain The French ran a story on how the Media and politicians in the UK are misleading the population on the reasons behind the food rationing its quite concerning really
As I said before, the.only shortage of fruit and veg.jn Tesco has been peppers. There's plenty of everything else especially fruit and root vegetables. May be we have.more meat eaters in Barnsley