Some UK supermarkets are restricting the sale of fruit and vegetables

LONDON — Some UK supermarkets have imposed restrictions on customers buying fruit and vegetables due to “sourcing challenges” attributed to weather conditions in southern Europe and North Africa, the industry said on Tuesday.

The country suffers from a tomato shortage that has now spread to other fruits and vegetables, causing retailers to limit sales.

He follows growers and suppliers in Morocco who have reported adverse conditions – cold temperatures, heavy rain and flooding – affecting production levels in recent weeks.

Bad weather, which also affected farmers in southern Spain, caused ferries to be cancelled, exacerbating supply problems.

“Difficult weather conditions in southern Europe and North Africa have disrupted the harvest of some fruit and vegetable varieties, including tomatoes and peppers,” said Andrew Opie of the British Retail Consortium in a statement.

“Although the disruption is expected to last for a few weeks, supermarkets are adept at managing supply chain issues and are working with farmers to ensure customers have access to a wide range of fresh produce.”

A spokesman for Asda, one of the UK’s leading supermarkets, said it was having “sourcing challenges with some produce” grown in the region.

“We have implemented a temporary limit of three of each product for a very small number of fruit and vegetable lines to allow customers to pick up the products they are looking for,” he added.

The limits apply to tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, lettuce bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries.

Meanwhile, rival seller Morrisons said it will introduce a two-item-per-customer limit for tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and peppers from Wednesday.