Salad vegetable shortages on UK's shelves spark Brexit blame game

An acute shortage of salad items on UK supermarket shelves has sparked a political debate, with some people in the industry blaming Brexit while others say it’s a “smokescreen” for different problems. Shortages of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers have also been experienced in other parts of Europe, but Britain is the worst-affected country with four major supermarkets including Tesco Plc and Morrisons rationing purchases. Environment Secretary Therese Coffey said on Thursday that the problem “will last another two to four weeks” and suggested Britons could eat seasonal vegetables such as turnips instead. She blamed “unusual weather incidents”, referring to recent cold weather in Spain and North Africa. Morocco, in particular, has been hit by snow storms. Still, former J Sainsbury Plc boss Justin King said the UK food sector has been “significantly disrupted by Brexit”. He told the BBC that the government was also to blame for failing to subsidise energy usage in greenhouses over ...