Supermarkets in Swindon have been hit by the fruit and vegetable shortage which is sweeping the United Kingdom.
UK supermarkets are facing a shortage of tomatoes after bad weather in Europe and Africa disrupted supplies.
Shoppers across the country have been sharing their frustration on social media after being unable to find tomatoes at their local stores.
This has extended to Wiltshire, with supermarkets running extremely low on fruit and vegetable stocks on Tuesday, February 21.
Although the Morrison’s supermarket in Dorcan had several packets of tomatoes on offer, it was running low on stocks of peppers and strawberries.
There are several reasons for why stocks are running low with environmental conditions cited as a key detrimental factor in crop yields across the globe.
Around 400,000 tonnes of tomatoes are imported from around the world and these mainly come from Morocco, Spain and the Netherlands.
Growers and suppliers in Morocco have had to contend with cold temperatures, heavy rain, flooding and cancelled ferries over the past three to four weeks – all of which have affected the volume of fruit reaching Britain.
The shortages are expected to last for the next couple of weeks. (Image: Newsquest)
Supplies from Britain’s other major winter source, Spain, have also been badly affected by weather.
Production problems in Morocco began in January with unusually cold night-time temperatures that affected tomato ripening.
These were compounded by ferry cancellations due to bad weather, affecting lorry deliveries.
The shortages are understood to be resulting in industry-wide gaps on shelves in the UK.
Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, with represents UK supermarkets, said: “Difficult weather conditions in the south of Europe and northern Africa have disrupted harvest for some fruit and vegetables including tomatoes.
“However, 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.”
Shoppers in Swindon and beyond are set to experience the disruption for "a couple of weeks".
As reported in the Metro on Monday, a Morrisons shop at the Gyle in Edinburgh provided an update for its customers via a sign.
The notice said: “Availability across our tomato range has been significantly impacted by adverse weather conditions across Spain and Morocco.
“The current shortage is likely to improve within a couple of weeks.”
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