Attempts to diversify post-Brexit supply chains by sourcing fresh produce from outside the EU have exacerbated the fruit & veg supply crisis, a supermarket CEO has revealed.
Speaking to The Grocer, the CEO suggested the “massive” shift to cheaper sources outside the EU since the UK’s departure – particularly via north Africa – had hit supply chain resilience.
A number of high-level sources at the mults have cited “difficult weather conditions” in both southern Europe and northern Africa as the main cause of the shortages, which have led Asda, Morrisons, Tesco, Lidl and Aldi to introduce buying restrictions on certain items since the start of last week.
Southern Europe has always been a source of fresh produce, but this year, the UK has sourced more from Morocco in particular.
It has long been touted as a promising post-Brexit fruit & veg source, given the launch of a direct shipping route bypassing the EU in 2021. And government international trade data shows the UK sourced £403.7m worth of fruit & veg from Morocco in 2022, up 166% on the £157.7m imported in 2019.
The CEO described the “massive explosion of [cheaper] Moroccan supply” as a benefit of Brexit.
But the increased reliance on these supply options also resulted in “a greater exposure to recent events”, they told The Grocer. Prices inside “the EU cocoon” were higher but supplies had been “much less hard hit” by current supply chain issues, they added.
As a result, the CEO argued the current supply situation was partly self-inflicted, considering large parts of the farming sector had opted “to expose themselves to world markets” by voting for Brexit. “This is precisely what we voted for,” they claimed.
They also noted UK prices were higher than countries such as Morocco – with moves to source cheaper produce from elsewhere also contributing to a fall in UK production.
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Other causes of the crisis included ongoing post-Brexit border issues, suggested Fresh Produce Consortium CEO Nigel Jenney.
“We have heavily criticised the UK government’s border strategy that frankly, as currently published, is not fit for purpose and will drive huge delays and huge additional costs for consumers, beyond where we are today,” he said.
And Jenney added that while the government had protested the shortages had not been driven by Brexit, “what is driven by the government is the industry uncertainty not providing clarity to what the process will be and how it will operate and what the costs of that process will be” – pointing to a proposed new targeted operating model on border efficiency which the government has not yet published.
But forging strong relationships with EU growers meant not all businesses were seeing fresh produce shortages, suggested Riverford Organic Farmers’ supply and technical director Luke King.
“We have developed long-term relationships with two main organic growers in Spain, and we work with these companies almost exclusively, so we aren’t having to compete with lots of other companies,” said King of the fruit and veg delivery service.
”These strong relationships mean we are prioritised and have a better level of supply than the UK supermarkets, in most cases. This is a testament to our ethos of building long-standing relationships with growers, where we build trust, mutual respect, and a friendship working directly rather than through third-party packers as the supermarkets do.
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It comes as the NFU this week launched a growth strategy designed to boost UK fruit & veg production and minimise future supply chain disruption.
The strategy sets out 10 policies to underpin success for the UK growing sector, while also enabling long-term growth and ensuring the ongoing fresh supply of produce on supermarket shelves.
The plan, described as the “building blocks” of success for the sector, calls for the boosting of sustainable energy supplies, an improvement in access to skilled labour, investments in productivity, greater supply chain fairness and other critical support needed to create growth in fresh produce production.
“The consequences of undervaluing growers can be seen on supermarket shelves right now. Shelves are empty,” said NFU president Minette Batters. “This is a reality we’ve been warning government about for many months.
“Without urgent action there are real risks that empty shelves may become more commonplace as British horticulture businesses struggle with unprecedented inflationary pressures, most notably on energy and labour costs,” she added.
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