(FreedomBeacon.com)- It’s been reported that big grocery chains in the United Kingdom are “rationing” certain types of vegetables. Produce is all subject to purchasing limitations at major supermarket chains. The United Kingdom government has warned that food shortages might linger for up to a month.
The largest grocery chain in the United Kingdom, Tesco (TSCDF), has temporarily limited customers to purchasing no more than three packages of tomatoes, peppers, or cucumbers at a time.
Asda is restricting customers to a maximum of three packs of certain commodities. Vegetables, including lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers, are included.
Brits have been hit hard by the biggest cost-of-living crisis in decades, and this restriction just adds insult to injury.
The food price index touched 16.7% in the four weeks ending on January 22. To put it another way, that’s the highest number recorded since the data firm began keeping track of the indicator back in 2008.
“We appreciate public worries regarding the availability of fresh vegetables,” a Defra representative said in a statement released Wednesday. Yet, the United Kingdom’s food supply network is robust and prepared for shocks.
But why aren’t there any items on the shelves?
Stores like Asda and Morrisons have blamed unfavorable weather in critical agricultural areas for the shortages.
Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, the cost of natural gas, a primary ingredient in nitrogen-based fertilizers, skyrocketed. Gas prices have dropped in recent weeks, but they’re still three times the long-term average, and Batters pointed out that fertilizer prices rose by 169% in 2019.
The NFU’s Batters said that farmers’ anxiety had been heightened by the EU’s plan to reduce its direct subsidy payments to British farmers gradually. The UK hopes to completely implement its subsidy system by 2024.
