Tesco is the latest major retailer to remove buying limits on fresh produce, three weeks after the supermarket chain began rationing foods due to shortages.
The retail giant confirmed on Tuesday that it had removed its buying limit on tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, the Mirror reports.
Britain’s biggest supermarket introduced a cap of three items per customer on the vegetables on 22 February, shortly after other big four supermarkets announced they were limiting purchases.
Aldi and Lidl lifted their limits on purchases this week, as the supply issues which led to shortages continue to ease.
Shortages began around three weeks ago, with retailers blaming bad weather in Morocco and Spain and related transport problems.
Picture dated February 27th shows the low stock of fresh fruit and vegetables in Tesco in Ely, Cambs. The retail giant confirmed on Tuesday that it had removed its buying limit on tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers
Late last week, Asda also confirmed it had removed limits of three on cucumbers, lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries.
The announcement meant restrictions of three remain only on tomatoes and peppers.
The retailer said availability overall had improved as expected.
Supplies of tomatoes and peppers are expected to be back to normal within a couple of weeks.
Growers have previously warned that supply issues could continue for some weeks.
Joe Shepherdson, of the Cucumber Growers’ Association, said last week: ‘Plants are going in more each week but harvest is still four weeks away and we have this incoming weather to deal with.’
‘Cold dark days delay plants. It slows them down. Plus you need extra gas to speed them up, which growers are reluctant to do,’ he told The Sun.
Jack Ward, of the British Growers Association, said we will see ‘stocks running low of carrots, leeks, cabbage and cauliflower’.
He added that some of the supply issues were down to high energy costs as some growers are waiting to plant their crops until the worst of the cold weather is over.
Shoppers began sharing their frustration about shortages of tomatoes around February 20.
Meanwhile, residents of EU countries such as Spain, France and Germany shared pictures of stores piled high with vegetables, claiming empty shelves back home are because of leaving the EU.
Supply issues soon spread to other products, leaving shelves bare of a number of fresh produce items including cucumbers, peppers and lettuces.
Tesco, Aldi and Lidl limited purchases of peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers to three items per person, while Morrisons set a limit of two items per customer across tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and peppers.
Supermarkets attributed the shortages to a combination of bad weather and related transport problems in north Africa and Europe.
Production problems in Morocco began in January with unusually cold night-time temperatures that affected tomato ripening.
Growers and suppliers in Morocco then had to contend with heavy rain, flooding and cancelled ferries – all of which have affected the volume of fruit reaching Britain.
Supplies from Britain’s other major winter source, Spain, were also badly affected by weather.
These were compounded by ferry cancellations due to bad weather, hitting lorry deliveries.
Producers locally also reported having to cut back on their use of greenhouses due to higher electricity prices.
Environment Secretary Therese Coffey made headlines when, asked about the shortages, she suggested that British consumers should eat more turnips instead of imported food.
She also told farmers at the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) conference in Birmingham ‘we can’t control the weather in Spain’ when confronted with the news that supermarkets were limiting sales of fruit and vegetables.
