Fruit and veg shortages highlight multiple failures to support British growers - The Yorkshire Post says

By YP Comment
Published 25th Feb 2023, 06:00 BST
Limits on the sales of some fruit and vegetables by Britain’s major supermarkets highlight multiple failures to support growers in this country.

The slender majority that voted for Brexit didn’t do so in the belief that empty supermarket shelves would become a thing of the norm. While no one really believed that Brexit would be the panacea for all of Britain’s problems, those that campaigned for Britain to leave the EU did so on the promise of a better future for people living here. The fact that the Government has allowed its post-Brexit policies to hurt food producers here is unforgivable.

The excuse that shortages in vegetables are down to poor weather in Europe is nonsensical and if anything serves to show how far food producers in this country have been sold down the river.

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Food security should be of utmost importance and for the Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey to accuse opponents of bandwagon jumping for questioning the Government’s failure to address food shortages is astonishingly tone-deaf.

Empty fruit and vegetable shelves at an Asda. A shortage of tomatoes affecting UK supermarkets is widening to other fruit and vegetables and is likely to last weeks. PIC: Yui Mok/PA WireEmpty fruit and vegetable shelves at an Asda. A shortage of tomatoes affecting UK supermarkets is widening to other fruit and vegetables and is likely to last weeks. PIC: Yui Mok/PA Wire
Empty fruit and vegetable shelves at an Asda. A shortage of tomatoes affecting UK supermarkets is widening to other fruit and vegetables and is likely to last weeks. PIC: Yui Mok/PA Wire

Few counties understand farming and food production like Yorkshire does. The region is home to a rich tapestry of producers. If the Government thinks Yorkshire will quietly accept them being sidelined to focus on growers even further overseas, then it is mistaken.

As Lee Stiles, secretary of the Lea Valley Growers Association, says, the rhetoric coming from this Government “is all about talking to retailers about sourcing alternative countries. There is no talk about supporting British growers”.

Blame has to be apportioned to supermarkets as well. Their greed has sidelined British growers. While they will readily tout their green credentials, a failure to buy from local suppliers, instead of racking up freight miles, shows that they have a long way to go.

Related topics:Yorkshire PostGovernmentBrexit