Pak Sahafat – Euronews wrote: As British farmers struggle with labor shortages, rising energy costs, inflation, supply chain problems and climate change, supermarket shelves are getting emptier and the supply of some items more limited.
According to Pak Sahafat News Agency, Euronews added on Thursday that eggs and salad ingredients are especially at the center of this food crisis.
Mint Butters, president of the National Farmers’ Union of England and Wales (NFU), told Sky News: Everyone wants to avoid rationing. The event we observed in January about eggs.
In an interview after the NFU’s annual conference on Tuesday, he added: I think the availability of some food items will face challenges.
So far, three UK supermarket chains have started rationing to combat shortages.
According to this report, the supermarket chain Morrison has set two numbers for each item (for buyers) for cucumbers, lettuce, peppers and tomatoes.
Asda supermarket has also limited the sale of broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, lettuce, pepper, raspberry, salad bag and tomato to three items per customer.
In a YouGov poll, 61% of British respondents said they had noticed or experienced a food shortage in their local shop or supermarket in the past few weeks.
Shortages of tomatoes and vegetables have also been reported in Ireland.
Butters said at the NFU conference that since 2019, the cost of fertilizer has increased by 169%. With gas prices rising due to Russian sanctions, energy costs have also risen by 79% – three times higher than usual. At the same time, the price of animal feed has increased by 57%.
Overall, UK farmers are facing costs that are almost 50% higher than in 2019.
According to Euronews, despite the increase in food prices in supermarkets, many farmers are still facing higher production costs.
Labor shortages have also hit some businesses in the UK hard. The situation is particularly dire in the poultry industry, which is currently collapsing due to the outbreak of bird flu, as well as the state of horticulture and farm businesses.
Unusual weather has also added to these problems. England has been facing abnormal temperatures in summer and winter, as well as drought in some parts of the country, which has affected crops and livestock.
According to Butters, UK production of salad ingredients is expected to fall to the lowest level since records began in 1985.
According to Euronews, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, field vegetables and potatoes are particularly at risk.
The results of the NFU survey of livestock producers showed that 40% of cattle farmers and 36% of sheep farmers are planning to reduce their livestock numbers in the next 12 months due to rising costs.