Vegetable shortages in UK could be ‘tip of iceberg’, says farming union

Shortages of some fresh fruit and vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers could be the “tip of the iceberg”, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has said. Certain products are hard to come by in UK supermarkets due to poor weather reducing the harvest in Europe and north Africa, Brexit rules and lower supplies from UK and Dutch producers hit by the jump in energy bills to heat glasshouses. The NFU’s deputy president, Tom Bradshaw, said a reliance on imports had left the UK particularly exposed to “shock weather events”. He said the UK had now “hit a tipping point” and needed to “take command of the food we produce” amid “volatility around the world” caused by the war in Europe and the climate crisis. “We’ve been warning about this moment for the past year,” Bradshaw told Times Radio on Saturday. “The tragic events in Ukraine have driven inflation, particularly energy inflation, to levels that we haven’t seen before. “There’s a lack of confidence from the growers that they’re going ...