Britons ‘stock up frozen alternative’ as fresh veg shortage continues

Britons are stocking up more on frozen vegetables in time for their Sunday roasts as fresh vegetable shortages continue, suggests recent data.

According to retail data experts Reapp, there is a surge in sales of frozen veg on weekends at one major British supermarket – with a 20 per cent year on year uplift. Almost £150,000 worth of additional sales have been made in 2023 alone.

The week ending 26 February saw a 47 per cent year on year uplift with additional sales of £28,000 – as supermarkets struggled to fill shelves with fresh vegetables and fruits.

Reapp commercial director James Lamplugh said, “Our analysis of recent supermarket shopping patterns show that the nationwide veg shortages have prompted the public to stock up on frozen alternatives.

“With this trend strongest on weekends it suggests shoppers may be filling their freezers out of fear further shortages could impact on the best meal of the week – Sunday lunch,” reports quoted Lamplugh as saying.

Nationwide shortages of fresh vegetables, particularly tomatoes, have been blamed on unusually poor weather in Spain. Latest report state that current cold snap could prolong the issue further.

It comes a week after Spain blamed Brexit and sheer bad planning as the main causes of the ongoing fresh produce shortage in the UK and not solely due to weather.

“There is a problem of programming the purchases, which is quite important, and then there has been a lower production as a result of the low temperatures,”  Spain’s agriculture minister Luis Planas said.

While shops in European Union countries were probably given priority, Planas said, UK shortages were “an absolutely transitory situation”.