Big supermarkets are to meet farming minister Mark Spencer in a bid to address the fruit and vegetable shortages that have left store shelves empty.

Empty shelves

Tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers have been missing from supermarket shelves

Grocers began to restrict sales of products including tomatoes last week and there are concerns the shortages may persist for some time.

Spencer appeared to blame retailers for the crisis at the weekend. He said: “I know families expect the fresh produce they need to be on the shelves when they go for their weekly shop.

“That is why I am calling in supermarket chiefs to get shelves stocked again and to outline how we can avoid a repeat of this.”

Aldi, Asda, Morrisons and Tesco have all limited purchases of items such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, after supply was hit by the weather in Spain and Morocco, which are important supplier countries. British farmers, affected by factors such as high energy costs, have not grown the same volumes they might have done in previous years.

The impact of Brexit has also been blamed by some observers and grocers have faced criticism for the just-in-time delivery model they deploy.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) has warned the current shortages may be “the tip of the iceberg”.

NFU deputy president Tom Bradshaw said the UK was vulnerable to the effects of unexpected weather because of its dependence on imports.

He told Times Radio: “We’ve been warning about this moment for the past year.”

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