Could the shortage of fruit and vegetables in England arrive in France?

Tips for extending the life of a tomato or a pepper, gardening tips for having your own vegetable garden, ideas for salad recipes… without salad or tomato… In the English press, the recommendations rush to face a major problem: a shortage of fruits and vegetables.

In a context of soaring food prices, of the order of 16.7%, in the country of King Charles III, the English are experiencing a shortage of shelves that the French probably believed to be reserved for toilet paper , mustard or oil. The reason is all in all easy to understand since it stems from disastrous climatic episodes which have weakened the vegetable crops of importing countries such as Morocco and Spain. Snowstorms delayed harvests in the Cherifian country while storms at sea delayed the delivery of production. At the same time, Spain has recently been affected by cold weather that is not conducive to agricultural production. Except that the United Kingdom relies on them for food: 80% of vegetables imported across the Channel grow in the Spanish region of Murcia. Moreover, in winter, 95% of tomatoes and 90% of lettuces consumed in the United Kingdom come from Spain or Morocco.

Added to the consequences of climate change are soaring energy prices which have prevented British farmers from growing a variety of fruit and vegetables in greenhouses as usual. Lacking the means to heat their installation, some preferred to plant a few products, while others ceased their activity. English farmers warned in the Guardian at the end of last week that apples and pears could be the next victims of shortages; in fact, they only planted a third of the orchards in order to cover their costs.

Given this observation, French consumers could wonder about a potential future shortage of fruit and vegetables in France. Not only because French agricultural production is partly based on the operation of greenhouses, but France also uses Spanish and Moroccan production. In an information report published on February 23, the Senate indicated that Spain was its leading supplier of vegetables, with 33% of imported volumes, or 38% of the total value of imported vegetables. The shelves of imported vegetables are now supplemented by Dutch (21%), Belgian and Luxembourgish (19%) and Moroccan (15%) production. In terms of fruit too, the work of Spanish farmers is also essential because imports amount to 34.5%.

French supermarkets at a time of rationing?

“In France, it’s a non-subject, at least in the immediate future”reassures journalist Olivier Dauvers, an expert in mass distribution who travels throughout the year to hypermarkets to decipher their marketing strategy and identify new trends in distribution. “France is indeed a country that imports Spanish and Moroccan fruit and vegetables, except that it also produces them, and much more than the English”, he explained to our colleagues at ETX Studio. And to conclude with a logic: “we also use greenhouse operation, but the further south you go, the less energy you use. Even in Spain we use energy to heat the greenhouses”.

To deal with this problem, major British retailers, such as Tesco and Aldi, have decided to ration the number of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers to three packets per person. At Asda, the decision also concerns broccoli, cauliflower, salad or even raspberries. A principle of distribution that recalls the dark hours of history, and that the health crisis has revived. “During the health crisis, we had rationed flour. But before Covid-19, I do not remember periods during which distributors had to ration certain products”says Olivier Dauvers.