The government is rushing to reassure following the absence of some vegetables from the shelves
Friday – 3 Shaaban 1444 AH – 24 February 2023 AD Issue Number [16159]
London: Naglaa Habiri
Almost empty shelves are no longer uncommon in British stores. Since the beginning of the “Covid-19” crisis and the invasion of Ukraine, Britain, like other major economies, has redoubled efforts to mitigate the repercussions of the disruption of global supply chains. While it succeeded in ensuring food security and the abundance of basic materials, it is witnessing these days new challenges that limit the abundance of some fruits and vegetables, in a crisis that may last for several weeks.
And the decision of 4 major supermarkets in the United Kingdom to restrict shoppers’ purchases of some fruits and vegetables raised fears of food shortages in Britain. Morrisons, Asda, Aldi and Tesco announced restrictions on sales of a “limited amount of vegetables and fruits” such as tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower and berries, limiting them to two or three packages per customer.
In turn, the government rushed to reassure consumers, and confirmed, through the Minister of Environment and Food, Therese Coffey, on Thursday, that the decision to ration supplies came to ensure that all consumers are able to buy the vegetables and fruits they need. Coffey, who was called to answer an “urgent question” regarding food supplies in the House of Commons, added that the “supply challenges” were caused by bad weather in northern Africa and southern Europe, expecting the food shortage to last from two weeks to a full month.
The British government and some representatives of the agricultural sector blame the deteriorating weather conditions for the decline in supplies. They say that suppliers in Morocco and Spain faced difficult conditions, including low temperatures, heavy rains and floods, which affected the volume of production in the past weeks.
Britain is facing a “temporary shortage” of food supplies