“Eat turnips instead of wanting salads or tomatoes. The sentence of the British Minister for the Environment, Thérèse Coffey, might give rise to a smile if it did not reveal the great difficulties in supplying the United Kingdom with fruit and vegetables. For several days, the subjects of his Majesty have been torn regarding a shortage on the shelves of supermarkets.
While photos of empty shelves are multiplying on social networks, several hypotheses have been put forward to explain this “food crisis”, one more, which affects the whole of the United Kingdom. In France, if the subject is looked at more lightly, it is nevertheless at the heart of the usual discussions of food sovereignty. There is no doubt that the theme will be addressed at the Agricultural Show which begins this Saturday at Porte de Versailles.
What is the situation in the UK?
British supermarkets are affected by a shortage of certain fruits and vegetables which is prompting some stores to ration the number of products per customer. No more than three batches of tomatoes, peppers or broccoli, can we read in some signs. Disruptions “are expected to last a few weeks”, according to Andrew Opie, an official with the BRC traders federation.
“We have introduced a temporary limit of three for each product on a very small number of fruits and vegetables,” says a spokesperson for the Asda chain of stores. The measure targets batches of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuces, salads, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries. It’s even two items per person at Morrisons, the fourth largest supermarket chain.
Beyond these one-off problems, British farmers warned in December that the United Kingdom was heading straight for a food supply crisis due to soaring costs hitting professionals in the sector.
The government announced at the annual conference of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), the country’s main farmers’ union, on Tuesday that more than £168 million in subsidies for British farmers this year to “stimulate innovation, support food production, improving animal health and welfare and protecting the environment”.
What are the reasons for this shortage?
“It is an addition of several factors, warns Olivier Dauvers, specialist in mass distribution. One reason alone would not have caused such a situation. The first of these would be meteorological. “Difficult conditions in southern Europe and North Africa have disrupted the harvest of some fruits and vegetables, notably tomatoes and peppers,” confirmed Andrew Opie, from the BRC traders federation.
Due to weather disturbances, with cold weather in Spain or flooding in Morocco (snow and hail), the two major suppliers to the kingdom experienced a drop in production. In a press release, Coexphal, the association of fruit and vegetable producers in Almería (the vegetable garden of Europe), regrets that a hot autumn and a very cold winter led to a 22% drop in tomato harvests, 25% peppers, 21% cucumbers and 15% zucchini. The plastic sheets as far as the eye might see were not enough. “The decline is also monumental in southern Morocco, even assures Claire Tillier, editor-in-chief of Fruits and vegetables distribution, a monthly specialized magazine. They had fewer quantities to export and therefore chose to serve the UK less. »
The island has also been shunned by fruit and vegetable producers because of its import procedures, which have recently become more complex. Since Brexit, “it has become a mind-blowing hell of paperwork”, observes Claire Tillier. “This exit from the European agreements is greatly disrupting flows. French producers all consider that exporting there has become a hassle. Today, it is easier to deliver products to Poland than to the United Kingdom, ”abounds Oliver Dauvers.
Leaving the EU also had the effect of hardening the entry of foreign workers, who are currently lacking in the few British greenhouses. When they have not reduced their (weak) production due to rising energy prices. The National Farmers’ Union, in fact, wrote in November, their concerns regarding the lack of manpower.
“Not to mention that the earthquake in Turkey (3rd tomato producer in the world) shut down ports, real hubs, for several days”, specifies the specialist in Fruits and vegetables distribution.
Is France threatened by such a crisis?
“These difficulties are quite revealing of food sovereignty across the Channel. The United Kingdom chose not to produce on its territory and was protected within the framework of the EU because there was a lot of trade. They find themselves today (too) dependent on the world market and the jolts of production”, analyzes Nicole Ouvrard, agricultural engineer.
Indeed, during the winter months, the UK imports around 95% of its tomatoes and 90% of its lettuce, most of it from Spain and North Africa, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) trade group. , cited by BBC. Which is far from being the case in France, protecting it from such a phenomenon.
“In France, there is no significant drop in production because our greenhouses are more elaborate, less sensitive to climate variations”, continues Claire Tillier. And, above all, France might protect itself from a drop in imports, even if eating French tomatoes in winter would have a certain cost, since it produces 700,000 tonnes of tomatoes per year, compared to less than 90,000 for the United Kingdom. United. For the same number of consumers. “At the same time, consuming tomatoes in February… We will probably have to resume intelligent consumption habits”, tackles Nicole Ouvrard.
