‘A perfect storm’ for consumers – energy and climate crises causing shortage of fresh produce on shelves

Welcome!

Premium subscribers enjoy unlimited access to all articles. But there's more: discover your full benefits now.

Welcome! Discover your full benefits as a Premium subscriber.

‘A perfect storm’ for consumers – energy and climate crises causing shortage of fresh produce on shelves

Peppers and tomatoes are two of the products which are in shorter supply than normal

Irish consumers face the prospect of higher fresh-produce prices and occasional shortages due to a combination of global supply chain issues, high energy prices and the increasing effects of climate change.

etail giants including SuperValu, Dunnes Stores, Aldi, Lidl and Tesco have been hit by shortages of some fresh fruit and vegetables items – with the problems exacerbated by cold weather in some core Mediterranean supplier markets and a reduction in output from northern European glasshouse producers due to soaring energy costs.

The problem is so severe in the UK that some retailers have imposed purchasing limits on some fresh produce lines including peppers and tomatoes.

Other retailers warned that some types of fruit and vegetable items may be unavailable on shelves for certain limited periods.

Pressures of widespread demand and production costs due to soaring gas and electricity prices mean that some fresh fruit and vegetable prices will inevitably rise over the coming months.

While the problem is far more severe in the UK than Ireland, consumers here have been warned that a few fresh produce items cannot be guaranteed on a daily basis on supermarket shelves.

Retailers now face "a perfect storm" of problems. Dunnes Stores confirmed some fresh produce items are in short supply.

"Due to unseasonable cold weather in Spain we are short in supply of some of our fresh produce lines. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience," an in-store notice advised shoppers.

Tesco said it had also been hit by issues with some core suppliers. “Due to bad weather in seasonal supply from Morocco and Spain, the growing and harvesting schedules of some produce have been impacted,” the retail giant advised.

Lidl and Aldi said they hoped to maintain full supplies of fresh fruit and vegetables, but acknowledged there were availability issues with some specific produce items.

SuperValu said supply issues had hit all retailers right across Europe due to a number of factors.

The Irish retail giant said it was liaising on an ongoing basis with its suppliers in terms of future produce shipments.

It added it was working to ensure as much fresh produce as possible was available for Irish shoppers.

Among the items worst hit by the supply shortages have been tomatoes, squash, peppers and fresh fruit such as strawberries, raspberries and even blueberries.

Even fresh vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce have been affected.

UK supermarkets including Tesco, Aldi, Asda and Morrisons are limiting purchases to two or three items on fresh produce.

The crisis was triggered by growers in the Netherlands reducing output over the past 12 months because of the effect of high energy costs on greenhouse operations.

That coincided with cold weather hitting crops in alternative supplier countries over the past six weeks including Spain and Morocco.

Compounding stock problems was the fact that demand for such products surged as the global market continued its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

One Dutch greenhouse owner, Pieter Wijnen, said soaring gas and electricity items had a massive effect on winter growing operations which depended on gas-supplied heat.

The Netherlands is the second largest agri-food exporter after the US – but its greenhouse industry was developed based on strategic access to cheap gas and electricity for winter operations.

In response to high prices, growers like Mr Wijnen – who supplies cucumbers and peppers – tried to reduce their exposure to soaring fuel prices by consolidating growing operations. His production facility extends over 79 acres.

The Dutch growers group, Glastuinbouw Nederland, estimated that 40pc of its 3,000 members face major financial challenges with gas prices having soared by 2,000pc compared to 2019/20 as a direct consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

As northern European growers slashed crop output to reduce their fuel bills, growers in Spain, Morocco, Portugal and even east Africa expanded their production to make-up the EU shortfall.

It wasn't just for fresh fruit and vegetables, with African growers even expanding their sales of fresh flowers across Europe.

Unfortunately, one of the coldest winters ever experienced by Spanish and North African farmers has played havoc with their expanded winter season output.

Spanish growers suffered 16 consecutive nights of freezing temperatures at the start of this year, which inflicted significant winter crop damage.

Problems have been worsened by heavy rains and floods in North Africa which further damaged vulnerable crops and increased local harvesting costs. Shipping and ferry issues from Morocco have added further to the logistical nightmare.

Ireland, like the UK, now imports around 90pc of its fresh tomatoes from Spain and North Africa – making it incredibly vulnerable to overseas supplier shortfalls.

Demand has also soared over the past decade as consumers got a taste for Mediterranean salads on a year-round basis.

The good news is that, within a few weeks, domestic growers will start to deliver their produce to market, helping ease northern European supply chain issues.