Vegetables are falling short in UK supermarkets, and this is just the beginning of a phenomenon that will affect more or less all of Europe. A famine problem directly linked to the sharp drop in production in Alicante, Murcia and Almería, even 2,000 kilometers away. The three regions suffer from water restrictions in the Tajo-Segura transfer as well as weather conditions that never accompany the normal behavior of the crops. Added to this decline in harvest is the bad season experienced by Morocco, the other major European supplier. Product shortages have other consequences, such as rising prices, which is behind the rationing that is already being implemented in British stores.
Alicante, Murcia and Almeria are considered to be the main vegetable producing centers in Europe, so any event that occurs could jeopardize supply at continental level, as producers in these regions have long warned. Well, this warning is on its way to becoming a reality due to the drop in production which is already causing serious problems in the UK. shortage causes some supermarket chains to limit the products customers can buy.
One of the reasons for this decline in crops, which is structured as a preview of what might happen next with the cuts announced in the Tajo-Segura transfer, is directly related to the lack of water. José Vicente Andreu, president of Asaja-Alicante, points out: While the cuts haven’t come that way yet, there were a number of restrictions in the months before the vegetables were planted., “which – underline – has led many farmers to choose to reduce the extension of their crops”. Added to this was the onset of a warm winter, which led to cooler-than-normal temperatures, with almost no continuity solution. The result was nothing but a reduction in production of around 40%..
This phenomenon has also been recorded in Murcia and Almería for very similar reasons. We must also add the bad harvest in Morocco due to the prolonged drought affecting the country.. “We find ourselves in a rather abnormal situation that has already affected the UK from the very beginning, but which will more or less spread to much of it over the next two or three months,” he stresses. of European markets”.
The shortage of products caused prices to increase as well., so artichokes are now 2.5 euros per kilo, while last year it was one euro cheaper, lettuce at 1.40 per piece, that is exactly double. Broccoli has also risen to 90 cents per kilo, up from 60 in 2022. Redonda de los Huertos, a fruit and vegetable wholesaler from Orihuela, attributes the shortages recorded by British stores to this rise in prices. The director of this company, Luis Gómez, said, “It is true that the harvest has fallen, but there is an additional problem here: distributors refuse to pay for the value of the vegetables., also taking into account the rapid increase in production costs”. The UK is one of the strongest markets for vegetables from Alicante. approximately 138 million exports per year.