Is Brexit a major cause of the current food shortgages in the UK?

Redwurzel

Redwurzel

Well-known member
There seems to be rationing going on in most supermarkets now for some fruit and veg.

Some of the media are saying Brexit is to blame. Some media in the EU are laughing at the UK and saying to UK is turning into the old Soviet Union and Cuba, with lots of empty shelves in the shops.

I am willing to listen to both sides, particularly interested in the views of food importers and producers.
 
It surely can’t help, particularly as it has created barriers to trade and is also a reason why it is more expensive to produce in this country.
 
I think we need to look at the EU and see if they are suffering similar food shortages.

There are obvious trade barriers due to Brexit - these can't help. Recently I have noticed a real lack of goods in the supermarket, not just tomatoes and cucumbers.

Our supermarkets have relied on cheap imports for years, this is maybe coming back to bite them. I have noticed no shortages in the local greengrocers, only big supermarkets.

My hunch is that supply is down and those products that remain are sent to the EU as there are no trade barriers - it would make the products too expensive to truck over here with the increased Brexit checks. As such we have a shortage. So maybe Brexit is, like with everything, making the problem far worse.
 
The producers in this country have halted/slowed down production of certain items due to the prices being forced upon them by the food trade people.

The food trade people say this accounts for about 5% of the market where the shortages are and that the weather in Spain/Portugal/Morocco is the major problem.
 
Corcaigh_the_Cat said:
The producers in this country have halted/slowed down production of certain items due to the prices being forced upon them by the food trade people.

The food trade people say this accounts for about 5% of the market where the shortages are and that the weather in Spain/Portugal/Morocco is the major problem.
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That implies UK consumers are not paying enough for their food. How can this be reconciled with the Brexiteers claims that leaving the EU would make food cheaper?
 
Redwurzel said:
There seems to be rationing going on in most supermarkets now for some fruit and veg.

Some of the media are saying Brexit is to blame. Some media in the EU are laughing at the UK and saying to UK is turning into the old Soviet Union and Cuba, with lots of empty shelves in the shops.

I am willing to listen to both sides, particularly interested in the views of food importers and producers.
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A decent thread about it, and how to some, it was clear this could happen.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1628677313385594882
 
It absolutely won't help, but I think it's largely due to weather issues and the fact we don't produce most of our own food.

Though I'd say climate related impact is actually far more concerning than a daft political decision.
 
Nothing to do with Brexit.
Apart from trade barriers meaning Fruit and Veg exporters in Europe are focussing more on Continental Europe rather than the UK, lack of pickers in the UK meaning we wasted massive stocks of our own produce last year, and lack of truck drivers to deliver the stuff.

Stocks are fine in Spain according to their farming according to the head of their farming organisation. Could be the weather and energy prices though 🤷‍♂️
 
Heine_Otto said:
Nothing to do with Brexit.
Apart from trade barriers meaning Fruit and Veg exporters in Europe are focussing more on Continental Europe rather than the UK, lack of pickers in the UK meaning we wasted massive stocks of our own produce last year, and lack of truck drivers to deliver the stuff.

Stocks are fine in Spain according to their farming according to the head of their farming organisation. Could be the weather and energy prices though 🤷‍♂️
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You've just turned it into a Brexit problem by citing the lack of pickers and a lack of drivers

A shopkeeper in Northern Ireland bemoaned the lack of certain items was down to Brexit due to the extra work entailed and small producers not bothering with it. She also talked out one of her items, produced in England then transferred to Norway, France then Dublin before being bought by her. Business people are certainly causing their fair share of the problem
 
Steer said:
Ireland are in the EU and have the same shortages.

Brexit cant be blamed for absolutely all our woes. Just most of them.
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I wonder how Ireland get their deliveries? Are they shipped / flown over or do they have to come through Dover etc and are then trucked and sent to Ireland via the Irish Sea?
 
Any country which has come to rely on income from its service and tourism industries, and faze out production of food to feed its own population is eventually going to run into trouble.
This happened when a plague such as Covid occurs and the service industries run down and tourism virtually stops.

Perhaps the present situation is a warning that a country which does not have the ability to feed and keep its population warm from its own resources is heading for disaster whether Brexit occurs or not.
 
ThePrisoner said:
That implies UK consumers are not paying enough for their food. How can this be reconciled with the Brexiteers claims that leaving the EU would make food cheaper?
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Price of food in the last 12 months has shot up, particularly dairy products - seem up over 40% (small carton of milk up from around 59p retail to 89p. I believe overall food inflation is 15%. Its a big shock to may people who are used to food never going up in price, including me.

The majority of our dairy products are UK produced which is hopefully is helping UK dairy farmers who have been struggling for many years.
 
Quite a few on here live in the food growing regions of Spain - has January and February being colder than usual?
 
Redwurzel said:
Quite a few on here live in the food growing regions of Spain - has January and February being colder than usual?
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Not massively - a couple of cold(ish) snaps but nothing that's affected agriculture .... in fact the bit of extra rain that we've had has been extremely welcome as we were in drought conditions in the main fruit and veg growing area in Malaga province - the Axarquia

No shortage of any fruit or veg here
 
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