UK veg shelves are empty: ‘It won’t happen here’

Up to three tomatoes or peppers buy at once. This is now the case for British supermarkets. Far fewer vegetables arrive from southern Europe, so there are shortages across the North Sea.

But we don’t have to be afraid of it in the Netherlands, says Wilma van den Oever of GroentenFruit Huis, the trade association for companies active in the sale of fruit and vegetables.

60 percent less

“Recently, the supply of tomatoes, peppers, cauliflower, cucumber, broccoli, zucchini and iceberg lettuce, mainly from southern Europe, has decreased,” explains Van den Oever. In the winter we depend on that, because it’s just too cold here to grow a lot of vegetables.

But at the lowest point, the supply from outside our country was 60% below normal, says Van den Oever. It was colder than normal in Spain, for example, and vegetables didn’t grow so fast back then.

Dutch greenhouses

In greenhouses in the Netherlands there is always less cultivation in winter, because it is simply too expensive due to heating costs. But this season, due to higher gas prices, that’s even more the case, she says.

“For example, tomato production this year is only about 10% of what it normally is. This is in addition to the drop in supply from southern Europe.

“Supply Restarts”

But it won’t be as bad as in British supermarkets here, she thinks. “I understand the supply is starting up again, but it will be some time before the vegetables get to us.”

The supply from Dutch greenhouses will also increase again, Van den Oever expects. She expects production from the Dutch greenhouses to resume at the end of March.

Mark Wever, spokesman for the CBL, the industry body which represents the interests of supermarkets and catering businesses, also does not see a situation like the one occurring in the UK. “We don’t get panic signals from supermarket chains.”

Island

There are several reasons why the situation in the UK is more difficult than here, thinks Cindy van Rijswick, head of RaboResearch Food & Agri for Europe and Africa.

In the UK, for example, it’s a little more difficult to source supplies from elsewhere, as it is an island after all. In addition, Van Rijswick suspects that UK supermarket chains are also unwilling to raise prices enough. If that were to happen, consumers would be more inclined to switch to other cheaper vegetables, says Van Rijswick.

Thirdly, given the choice and buyers paying the same price, Spanish companies will prefer to export to other EU countries rather than to the UK, as it is simply less hassle than exporting to a country which has just left the EU, concludes Van Rijswick.

Don’t forget that we also grow greenhouse vegetables in the Netherlands, as the British are much more dependent on imports from abroad, adds Thijs Geijer, Food Economist at ING.

“Enough traditional vegetables”

The fact that it is now considered a problem that the supply from outside our country is less, is also linked to the fact that we are used to everything always being available in supermarkets. It’s actually a miracle that all of this fresh produce from around the world is on the shelves, says Van Rijswick.

Remember that there are many other traditional vegetables, such as leeks, chicory, mushrooms, parsnips, carrots and sauerkraut, adds Van den Oever.