Pepper shortage in UK after cold snap in Europe

Shoppers across the UK are reporting shortage of peppers after a cold snap in Europe, leading some supermarkets to limit the number customers can purchase, state reports today (24).

Morrisons has reportedly introduced a two-item limit on peppers. The supermarket said it hoped to be able to lift the restrictions within the next week or once supplies improved.

It is believed to be partly due to poor weather in Spain. In other stores, such as Waitrose, there were fewer packets of peppers on offer, though the supermarket has so far stopped short of rationing the product.

Andrew Opie, the director of food and sustainability at the trade body the British Retail Consortium, said the harvest of some crops in southern Europe, including peppers, had been affected by difficult weather conditions.

“A few stores have implemented temporary limits on how much customers can buy to ensure availability for everyone. However, availability should improve for those impacted in the coming weeks as we enter UK growing season,” Opie said.

Domestic supplies of produce such as peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce usually take over in late spring as the weather in Britain warms up. However, soaring energy costs have led to many British growers reducing or delaying the planting of their crops, as they do not want to pay the bills required to heat and light their glasshouses.

Farmers have warned earlier that UK may face shortage of fresh produce owing to the massive drop in domestic production. The union and British growers had been cautioning for some time that food producers were facing soaring costs of energy as well as fertiliser while in some cases, they were not being paid enough to cover the cost of production.

The Lea Valley Growers Association, which produces three quarters of Britain’s cucumbers and peppers, said 40 of its 80 members opted not to plant vegetables over concerns they would make financial losses.

Ten of the growers who did not plant the vegetables also left the business.

The group’s secretary Lee Stiles previously told The Times that he predicted shortages of British produce in 2023 ”across the board”.

”The amount of British fresh produce on the shelves from our growers has reduced by at least half this year already but consumers haven’t noticed it, or don’t care.”