Sales of some fruit and vegetables have been limited by most of the country's largest supermarkets, Tesco, Asda, Aldi and Morrisons. The UK government has said it is largely down to bad weather in Europe and Africa. There is also the impact high electricity prices are having on produce grown in greenhouses in the UK and the Netherlands. Tomatoes and peppers seem to be the worst affected but it's unclear whether this is simply because they are popular. In the winter months the UK imports around 95% of its tomatoes and 90% of its lettuces, most of them from Spain and north Africa, according to trade group the British Retail Consortium (BRC). But southern Spain has been suffering unusually cold weather and in Morocco crop yields have been affected by floods, while storms have caused ferries to be delayed or cancelled. It led to Morocco barring exports of tomatoes, onions and potatoes to West African countries earlier this month as it tried to protect exports to Europe. The shortages are only expected to last "a few weeks" until the UK growing season begins and supermarkets find alternative sources of supply, according to the BRC.
