Ireland: Tomato, lettuce, and pepper supply challenges due to perfect storm of issues

Ireland is experiencing a shortage of glasshouse crops such as tomatoes due to a “perfect storm” of issues, including rising fuel costs and torrential rains in Spain. A number of supermarkets have erected signs in recent days warning of supply issues. A sign in Lidl said it is “short stocked” on some tomato lines due to “unseasonably” wet weather in Spain, while a sign in Supervalu said most tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and broccoli are unavailable “due to reasons beyond our control”. Justin Leonard, managing director of Jackie Leonard and Sons, a wholesale fruit and vegetable supplier in Dublin, said there are a number of issues causing the recent shortage, which is Europe-wide. It is affecting all glasshouse crops, including lettuce, peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes, he added. “There is shocking weather in Spain, including torrential rain. It just washed a lot of the plants away and damaged them. So a lot of the plants are just shutting down and dying off. Then you also have the ...