Where are all the tomatoes?

[verdantverdure]

I'll admit it, I eat a lot of tomatoes.

Daily probably.

But where are they?

AIBU to ask you if there are tomatoes where you live?

Even the seasonal veg is often imported. Tesco celeriac is mix of uk and Netherlands.
I hope no one eats lentils unless confirmed as grown locally. Or anything really.

Bottom line is...We are further away, more difficult to sell into, we are famous for underpaying for fruit and veg. Why bother taking what you've got across the channel. If there's a shortage, better to sell what's available to your partners in EU....

And that is why there is nothing on the shelves. Basically, we're last in the queue.

On the BBC just now it said that the supermarket contracts weren't paying enough for the tomatoes so they were going to smaller shops that pay more and sell at higher price so that is probably why I could get them at the garden/home centre

I reckon so, a Brits in Europe facebook group I'm on and people posting pictures of tomato stocks in their supermarkets all over Europe and plenty of tomatoes, plenty here in Finland too (just really fucking expensive)

plenty here in Finland too (just really fucking expensive)

I think that is part of the problem. There is a general shortage so prices have gone up everywhere, but UK retailers are reluctant to pay the increased price and pass it on to the customers.

Not only does the UK import less from further afield, they also use non existing ferries to transport it.

Yeah that's understandable, there's enough outrage about price increases in Britain so increasing the price of tomatoes enough to cover the costs would probably cause riots! Finns are more used to ridiculous prices (the last few months have been something else though) and will just buy a bit less to accommodate the increased cost.

Admittedly food in Britain was always really cheap compared to elsewhere (including places with much smaller wages). It had to come to an end and level up eventually

@YellowDaffodillie just saw this now, thank you! 😊I think it's a Tesco problem. They had few sorts in Lidl yesterday, but my daughter went to Tesco in a different town (yesterday as well) and the tomato, cucumber, pepper area was empty

Just been to aldi and they had plenty of tomatoes, cucumbers and veg etc. We should be prepared to pay fair prices for fruit and veg really, we have been able to exploit the cheaper labour of people from abroad for too long now, a plus point for consumers but not for workers.

Asda was looking pretty full although did have signs saying no more than 3 of each item but things like ice berg was so full they where nearly on the floor.

Yes, I've been having trouble sourcing broccoli for weeks and it's always been an import despite being in season in the U.K.

I've been looking into it and apparently broccoli is hard work to pick and British farmers are planting it less because they can't get workers to pick it.

Loss of EU farming payments means that farmers can't risk laying out money planting what they might not be able to pick.

Broccoli has been disaapointing for months now. I resorted to frozen🤷🏻

Family in EU is coming out with new jokes every day now🤦 sending me articles about uk from their news. I need some comebacks but actually even have realitevly ok politicians. Bastards

I find it hard not to be proud of my country.

My husband and BIL are both in mainland Europe at the moment and the family WhatsApp is all tomatoes.

To be fair, if you Google tomato shortages or vegetable rationing in other languages news items it's only ever about the U.K.

We seem to be most affected by these things these days.

My oldest son told me that if he could wish for anything in the world it would be that bell peppers never existed. 😂

Plenty different varieties here, but I'm in Ohio.

Purple sprouting broccoli is lovely but it’s a long season and you tend to need to eat it pretty fast after picking when home grown.

I can see my allotment waiting lists going mad again this year.

My husband has just reminded me that fresh food shortages after Brexit were predicted and that the governments risk assessment of a hard Brexit out of the single market and customs Union was called Yellowhammer because the call of that bird is known as 🎶 A Little Bit Of Bread And No Cheese 🎶

He also said that they have plenty of fresh fruit and veg in the shops in Ukraine.

What is the point you're trying to make with this? I don't get it.

Loads in Asda today but very few in Aldi yesterday

No peppers, tomatoes, any kind of lettuce or herbs etc at my local Tesco.

Really struggling to get fresh greens for the Guinea Pigs! (first world problem I know).

@Bippetyboppityboob

The news keeps saying it's a Europe wide issue.

It isn't. Having returned from Espana yesterday and knowing a lot of people over there.

Most articles I've seen are pointing out that it's not Europe wide. The prices across most of Europe are eye watering though, perhaps if our supermarkets paid more for the produce our farmers etc could afford to heat their greenhouses and pay an attractive wage?

Farmers lost their EU subsidies because of Brexit and the government have failed to match them.

Add into that the the U.K. pays the highest price for electricity in the world, and one of the highest prices for gas in Europe,

And you can see how they thought it was uneconomic to grow cucumbers and tomatoes in greenhouses during the coldest months.