Tomato shortage: How far is Brexit to blame?

Some of the UK's biggest supermarkets are limiting income of tomatoes and different crockery items.

The authorities says the shortages, which are expected to past for respective weeks, person been "predominantly caused by mediocre upwind successful Spain and North Africa wherever they are produced".

Others item the interaction of precocious vigor prices connected UK growers, whether the authorities has done capable to assistance them and supermarket pricing.

Lots of radical connected societal media person besides been posting pictures of bare shelves successful the UK and contrasting them with plentifulness of caller nutrient successful supermarkets successful Europe, claiming Brexit is simply a factor.

So, what is the grounds for this?

The European Commission (EC) told america that "there is nary peculiar concern of nutrient shortage successful EU cultivation markets".

The Spanish authorities did corroborate that "supplies successful Spain are presently lower".

It said this was mostly owed to the weather: "unusually precocious temperatures from the extremity of the summertime play until December"... followed by a "sudden accomplishment of debased temperatures successful January... resulted successful a driblet successful supply".

There person been immoderate shortages successful the Republic of Ireland, different European Union (EU) member, and Irish retailers person blamed freezing upwind successful Southern Europe and North Africa. But nary are rationing effect and vegetables.

EU countries are successful the azygous marketplace - a giant, free-trade portion wherever countries stock the aforesaid rules and regulations.

The UK is nary longer successful the azygous marketplace and present has a regularisation that each consignment of "plant products" - specified arsenic tomatoes - sent from the EU to the UK, requires customs declarations and pre-notification connected the government's IT system.

It produced a video connected however to bash this, utilizing an illustration of idiosyncratic trying to import tomatoes.

The authorities says the paperwork is not routinely checked but, from 2024, determination volition beryllium further paperwork and checks.

We spoke to MCE Logistics, a institution which processes these forms for dozens of importers of Spanish tomatoes for British supermarkets.

It told america it takes astir 10-20 minutes to bash this per lorry - longer if they are transporting mixed loads of vegetables - and they usage specialised software.

Brexit represents "a situation for the full Spanish effect and rootlike sector", according to the Spanish government.

But it said the existent herb shortages successful the UK were "due to the upwind reasons mentioned, and not to Brexit".

We asked the European Commission whether Brexit was a factor. It did not remark connected this, but said "food prices and commercialized flows are driven by marketplace forces".

They quoted 'Daniel' saying: "I unrecorded successful the Netherlands. We person excessively galore tomatoes! We utilized to export them to the UK but it present takes a motortruck operator 77 hours of queueing to instrumentality tomatoes to the UK and each motortruck drivers simply refuse."

We contacted the manufacture associations successful the Netherlands arsenic good arsenic the haulage institution pictured successful the tweet.

The institution has not got backmost to america and the manufacture relation said they were "not alert of queuing astatine the ports successful the Netherlands for goods leaving to oregon entering from the UK".

Ksenija Simovic, a elder argumentation advisor astatine Copa-Cogeca, a radical which represents farmers and farming co-operatives successful the EU, said erstwhile determination is simply a shortage of proviso "it doesn't assistance that the UK is retired of the EU and azygous market".

"But I don't deliberation this is the superior crushed the UK is having shortages," Ms Simovic added.

We asked the UK authorities if Brexit was a origin but it did not code this point.

It said farming curate Mark Spencer had spoken to UK retailers and "...asked them to look again astatine however they enactment with our farmers and however they bargain effect and vegetables".

Of each the tomatoes eaten successful the UK - astir 500,000 tonnes a twelvemonth - UK growers nutrient a fifth oregon 100,000 tonnes.

During the summer, this goes up to astir fractional of each tomatoes bought.

There person been shortages of seasonal workplace workers, including successful the glasshouses wherever tomatoes are grown, that person been blamed connected Brexit and the pandemic.

The government's Seasonal Workers visa scheme allows workers to enactment for six months astatine a time. Before Brexit, they could travel and spell - from different EU countries - arsenic portion of state of question rules. Now they travel from countries as acold distant arsenic Nepal.

Dr Sarah Schiffling, a proviso concatenation adept from the Hanken School successful Helsinki, told america the play for increasing tomatoes successful UK glasshouses is astir 9 months a year. A six-month visa means recruiting and grooming 2 sets of workers, adding to the paperwork and cost.

Dr Schiffling highlighted differences successful pricing strategies betwixt UK and EU supermarkets which, she argued, has been a origin successful the existent herb shortages.

"The pricing strategies of immoderate supermarkets successful the UK necktie producers into longer-term contracts portion the EU supermarkets usage spot rates - erstwhile determination are less tomatoes the terms goes up", she told BBC 5 Live.

More than a 3rd of tomatoes eaten successful the UK presently travel from Morocco.

Growers determination person been affected by unusually acold night-time temperatures that affected herb ripening.

Bad upwind besides led to the cancellations of ferries bringing supplies to the European mainland implicit the past 3 to 4 weeks.

In March 2022, Poole Harbour announced a caller nonstop service connecting the UK and Morocco would beryllium launched "shortly".

It said it would supply "an alternate way for exporters from Morocco and Africa presently utilizing roadworthy networks to the UK via Europe". But the way has not been launched.

We contacted officials astatine Poole but person not had a reply.