U.K. shoppers face bare shelves and rationing in grocery stores amid produce shortages
CBSN
London — Some major supermarket chains in the United Kingdom have capped the amount of fresh produce customers are permitted to buy due to supply shortages. Popular items including tomatoes, peppers, lettuce and raspberries have been limited to only two or three packages per person at some chains as photos of empty shelves flood social media platforms.
The U.K. imports between 90% and 95% of its produce during the winter months, mainly from Morocco and Spain, according to the British Retail Consortium. Those countries have seen bad weather affect crop yields.
"It's been snowing and hailing in Spain, it was hailing in North Africa last week — that is wiping out a large proportion of those crops," James Bailey, executive director of the supermarket chain Waitrose, told Britain's LBC Radio.
