Food shortages UK 2023: Call for emergency Cobra meeting to tackle supermarket rationing
The Liberal Democrats have called on the government to convene an emergency Cobra meeting after four of the UK’s biggest supermarkets put limits on the amount of fruit and vegetables customers may buy.
Wera Hobhouse, the party’s climate and energy spokesperson, said the government was “shamelessly content with turning a blind eye to the immediacy of food shortages facing UK families”.
She added: “The Prime Minister must hold a Cobra meeting as the situation is a national crisis.”
Cobra meets to handle matters of national emergency or major disruption.
Meanwhile, supermarket shelves in Ukraine are bursting with fresh produce as the UK suffers a shortage of fruit and vegetables.
Photos show plentiful stocks of tomatoes, courgettes and peppers on the shelves of supermarkets in Kherson and Kyiv.
Tesco, Aldi, Morrison’s and Asda have introduced rationing, placing a cap of three items per customer on tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.
Environment secretary Therese Coffey said government officials expected food shortages would last “about another two to four weeks” – blaming weather in Europe and north Africa for crop failures.
Coffey would rather make us eat Baldrick’s favourite veg than admit Brexit is a failure
Britain’s politicians can’t bring themselves to tell the truth about empty shelves, writes our chief business commentator James Moore.
Namita Singh24 February 2023 04:30
‘Rare’ tomatoes on sale for £500 as supermarkets shelves run bare
Six salad tomatoes are on sale for £500 as supermarket shelves in the UK run bare amid supply issues.
One person has made light of the fruit and vegetable shortages by selling six tomatoes that are “unused and in original packaging”.
My colleague Martha McHardy reports:
Namita Singh24 February 2023 04:00
Value range shoppers ‘bear brunt’ of food price inflation
Shoppers relying on the cheapest supermarket ranges are bearing the brunt of grocery inflation with price rises on value items far outstripping those of branded and premium products, figures show.
The price of value items was up 21.6 per cent in January on a year before, well in excess of overall grocery inflation of 15.9 per cent, Which? found.
In comparison, branded goods rose by 13.2 per cent over the year, own-label premium ranges were up 13.4 per cent and standard own-brand items increased 18.9 per cent.
Namita Singh24 February 2023 03:30
Farmers are in trouble – and that means UK food security is too
This opinion piece from last year makes some pertinent points in the light of the latest food crisis:
Jane Dalton23 February 2023 23:05
‘Rare’ tomatoes on sale for £500
An online seller is asking £500 for six salad tomatoes as supermarket shelves run bare.
Jane Dalton23 February 2023 22:01
Coffey heckled by MPs as she fumbles question on supply issues
Therese Coffey heckled by MP as she fumbles question on food supply issues
Therese Coffey was mocked by colleagues in the House of Commons as she fumbled her answer to a question on the UK food shortages. After struggling with her rebuttal to Labour MP Luke Pollard, the Tory minister settled on accusing him of not knowing how the “food supply system works”. “I had a great one, Mr Speaker,” Ms Coffey said, as she failed to provide a cutting comeback, before accusing Mr Pollard of “jumping on the bandwagon” with his criticism of the government. “Shocking,” one MP shouted, in response to Ms Coffey’s fumbled answer. Click here to sign up for our newsletters.
Jane Dalton23 February 2023 21:26
Opinion: Coffey would rather make us eat Baldrick’s favourite veg than admit Brexit is a failure
If you put up trade barriers like this government has, you inevitably create problems with your supply chains, which are apt to buckle in the face of challenges, writes James Moore:
Jane Dalton23 February 2023 20:05
Calls for emergency Cobra meeting
A Liberal Democrat MP has called for the prime minister to call an emergency Cobra meeting to respond to the “national emergency”.
Wera Hobhouse, Climate and Energy spokesperson, said it was “imperative that we see action now” and accused the government of turning a blind eye.
“It is unacceptable that the concerns of the farming industry are being ignored. Clearly, the Secretary of State is out of touch with the real world,” she said.
“Our supply chain issues cannot be fixed overnight by encouraging more domestic food production.”
Jane Dalton23 February 2023 19:10
Work more hours if you can’t afford food, Therese Coffey suggests
Tory cabinet minister Therese Coffey has suggested people struggling to afford their soaring food bills could consider working more hours.
Labour MP Rachael Maskell could be heard saying “that’s appalling” as the environment secretary replied to her concerns about food banks in York running out of stock:
Jane Dalton23 February 2023 18:49
Italian restaurants forced to remove items from menu as food shortages create ‘perfect storm’
Italian restaurants in the UK are being forced to change menus and drop meals as food shortages begin to hit the hospitality sector.
The UK has been hit with shortages since the weekend due to adverse weather in Spain and Morocco, transport problems and other factors. Among the food items affected are tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and broccoli.
Asda, Morrisons, Lidl and Tesco are among major supermarkets rationing fresh produce, while the supply chain issues.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain23 February 2023 18:15
