SUPERMARKET shelves could soon be left EMPTY as war in the Middle East drives up food production costs, suppliers have warned.
Fruit and vegetable producers have warned they may be forced to stop production and end the season early because of the rising price of energy and transportation costs following the war in Iran.
Growers’ associations responsible for producing fruit and veg across the country have said this may result in empty shelves in the supermarkets.
Lea Valley Growers Association (LVGA) secretary Lee Stiles warned that supermarket shelves may be empty if nothing is done to support the industry.
He said: “Growers are in the same position now as they were when Russia invaded Ukraine, because the wholesale gas prices are creeping up.
“With rising costs, many growers are thinking they might as well send the staff home, stop for the season and not produce anything.
JOB CUT
Six weekend jobs paying up to £100 an hour – as part-time work gets harder to find
COST CONCERNS
Reeves warns fuel retailers over hiking pump prices as petrol costs soar
“They’re going to have to make a decision in the next few weeks as to whether or not it’s going to be economic to continue for the rest of the year.”
LVGA is the biggest grower of cucumbers in the UK, as well as growing sweet peppers, aubergines and tomatoes.
If growers cannot afford to turn their boilers on, the glasshouses are no longer heated, meaning that the crops will stop growing.
Mr Stiles added: “Back in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine, we ended up with empty shelves in the supermarkets.
“The supermarkets agreed a fixed price with growers last year. They can intervene now if they wish and agree to pay more for the produce because of the increased cost of production.
“But it looks as though they’re prepared to have empty shelves again and reduced availability.”
Food supplies were hit so badly in 2022 that major supermarkets including Tesco and Morrisons were forced to put limits on the amount of cooking oil people could buy.
Rachael Williams from the West Sussex Growers Association (WSGA), also raised fresh fears of shortages.
She said: “I have touched base with our growers and everybody’s obviously worried.
“They are worried about what will happen, how it will develop, and the uncertainty of it all.”
Ms Williams said that it is not just direct energy costs that are worrying growers.
She said: “It’s four-fold really. It’s the rise in transportation costs, input costs, supply chain disruption, and then, of course, from the energy perspective heating the glasshouses.
“On the transport cost, red diesel has gone up by more than 50% in just 10 days, that’s huge for open field growers using tractors too.”
WSGA grows sweetcorn, courgettes, lettuce, strawberries and blueberries, among other fruit and veg.
It comes as the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) met with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to discuss the UK’s food resilience.
NFU president Tom Bradshaw said: “We’ve already seen this situation play out with the Russian invasion of Ukraine which drove an ongoing cost-of-living crisis here.
“And, with the removal of farm support which added a layer of resilience for many farm businesses, farmers are more exposed than ever to global markets.
“While the impact on food production and food price inflation will depend on what happens over the coming weeks, it is yet another sobering reminder of the need to build resilience in UK farming.”