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Tomato shortages hit British stores. Is Brexit to blame?

Transcript

Many British supermarkets are limiting sales of some fruits and vegetables as the U.K. is facing a shortage — attributed to a combination of weather, energy prices and trade politics.

British stores are experiencing shortages of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and other vegetables (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP) (Photo by CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty Images)

CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty Images

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The United Kingdom is light on tomatoes. Cucumbers, bell peppers, broccoli and other popular produce items are also in short supply. So why are the shelves so empty? As NPR's Stacey Vanek Smith reports, it's a combination of weird weather, energy prices and also a little dash of trade politics.

STACEY VANEK SMITH, BYLINE: It's not easy to find a tomato in the U.K. right now. And if you do, you'd better savor it because supermarkets are placing strict limits on the number that customers can buy.

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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #1: Now, you'll struggle to buy tomatoes in the U.K. and some other parts of Europe. Some supermarkets are rationing them.

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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #2: Across the country, fruit and veg aisles are increasingly bare. Tesco has joined Aldi, Asda and Morrisons in introducing rationing.

VANEK SMITH: Tim Harford is an economist and host of the podcast "Cautionary Tales." He and his family live in Oxford. And they eat a lot of tomatoes. So when he heard news about shortages, he rushed to the grocery store.

TIM HARFORD: There's this whole shelf that normally has crates and crates of different kinds of tomatoes. And there were just three packs left. They're almost out of tomatoes. Or should I say tomatoes? Wait, let's not get into that.

VANEK SMITH: (Laughter) Over the last few years, this has been a familiar story. The pandemic created supply chain crises and shortages all across the globe. Mostly, those have been resolved. So what is going on with tomatoes?

HARFORD: There's a whole bunch of things going on.

VANEK SMITH: The main issue, says Harford, was a bad harvest in Spain and Morocco, where Europe and the U.K. get a lot of their winter produce. There was a late frost that killed a lot of the crops. In the U.S., most of our winter vegetables come from Chile, Mexico and California. So our salads are safe for now. The second issue, the war in Ukraine. It's caused energy prices in Europe to spike. So growing tomatoes in greenhouses, as they do in the U.K. and the Netherlands, has gotten so expensive, a lot of farmers have not done it this year, which has further cut back supply. But a lot of people are also pointing to Brexit as a culprit. And this has been coming up in parliament.

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LUKE POLLARD: And now we have rationing in our supermarkets. That is not because people are stockpiling and panic buying salad although you can't keep salad that long. Although, the lettuce lasts longer than the last prime minister.

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VANEK SMITH: Now that the U.K. isn't part of the all-important market, the European Union, it does not have as much muscle with suppliers when times are tight. It is in the back of the tomato line. Economist Tim Harford thinks Brexit is not the main reason for tight tomato supplies. After all, other parts of Europe are also experiencing shortages. But he says Brexit most certainly isn't helping.

HARFORD: My guess is that it is mostly the weather. But Brexit doesn't make anything easier. So it's like, this is a problem. Brexit is going to make almost every problem slightly worse.

VANEK SMITH: Harford also points out that global supply chains are still normalizing from the pandemic. But overall, they've shown themselves to be impressively resilient. He thinks tomatoes will be back in abundance soon. And until then, one U.K. minister suggested Brits take a page from the past and eat turnips instead. They grow more easily in the clammy British climate. This suggestion sparked a raft of parodies on social media.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Hi. Can I get a large cheese and turnip pizza, please? No problem at all, mate. That's one Brexit margarita coming right up.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: I've had this freshly made. It's a BLT, bacon, lettuce and turnip. And I'm hoping that someone will at least give it a try.

VANEK SMITH: British authorities say tomatoes should turn up in supermarkets again in about a month.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: You're not going to try it?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: I don't like turnips.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: OK.

VANEK SMITH: Stacey Vanek Smith, NPR News.

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