So why do I have no problem buying tomatoes?

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markwilding
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So why do I have no problem buying tomatoes?

Postby markwilding » Mon Feb 27, 2023 12:44 am

It seems that the UK doesn't have tomatoes. What I have read is that the weather in Spain and Morocco has affected supplies. Odd thing though, All the supermarkets I visited this last weekend had plenty.

olive
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Re: So why do I have no problem buying tomatoes?

Postby olive » Mon Feb 27, 2023 8:53 am

Were those supermarkets here in Spain?

It maybe to do with wholesale prices, transport costs and contracts. On my rare visits to the uk, I have always been surprised at how cheap salad veg ( imported or grown under glass somewhere) was.

More importantly, did you manage to find any turnips!

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Wicksey
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Re: So why do I have no problem buying tomatoes?

Postby Wicksey » Mon Feb 27, 2023 11:17 am

We were in Lidl the other day and no shortage of fruit and veg. Our neighbour grows tomatoes and he seems to have agreenhouse full of them. Much of the UK TV pictures showed Morocco under snow, so maybe they are a bigger supplier? One thing though here is that I found the veg really pricey. The iceberg lettuce (and they were all smallish ones for sale) was 1,35€ but I noticed when the UK news was showing the empty shelves in English supermarkets the icebergs were 65p. Looking at Morrisons grocery (we are going to be staying near one when we go back to England on our next trip, so were just looking) they have 1kg of carrots for 49p (their wonky carrots are 39p) and I paid 79c, UK sweet potatoes 1.09 pounds and in Lidl they were 2.49€ a kilo.

El Cid
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Re: So why do I have no problem buying tomatoes?

Postby El Cid » Mon Feb 27, 2023 11:40 am

The main problem is with the UK supermarkets. They insist on paying such low prices that when there is a real shortage of supplies from Europe and Morocco, the suppliers sell their produce to the highest bidder and that is not the UK.

Combine that with more complicated border controls after Brexit, and you can understand why the UK is at the back of the queue.

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Re: So why do I have no problem buying tomatoes?

Postby Pamela1 » Mon Feb 27, 2023 12:11 pm

I have managed to still get tomatoes and peppers when I've wanted them and i live far north of uk, just as well because OTH gets through a pack every 2 days.He would be pretty miserable without his tomatoes. :lol:

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Re: So why do I have no problem buying tomatoes?

Postby Lavanda » Tue Feb 28, 2023 5:29 pm

I've just come back from six weeks in Devon, England. The fruit and veg selection in Lidl, Sainsbury and Tesco was a bit thin and hit and miss. The weird thing was the rationing of eggs — only six allowed per customer in any one visit.

El Cid
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Re: So why do I have no problem buying tomatoes?

Postby El Cid » Tue Feb 28, 2023 11:26 pm

Bird flu is rife in the UK. That must reduce the supply. It’s much less of a problem in Spain.

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spanish_lad
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Re: So why do I have no problem buying tomatoes?

Postby spanish_lad » Wed Mar 08, 2023 1:51 pm

Like everything else, it comes down to money. Sad isn't it.
Alhaurin el Grande since 99, working at the airport since 2011.

Katy Again
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Re: So why do I have no problem buying tomatoes?

Postby Katy Again » Thu Mar 09, 2023 7:54 pm

Never really a shortage even our village shop had them. During the scaremongering sales of lettuce tomatoes etc. etc were up by a third, panic didn’t help. Most tomatoes here are now from Morocco but have seen some from Spain recently. Waitrose got those huge Spanish tasteless strawberries in the ones white at the top.

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Re: So why do I have no problem buying tomatoes?

Postby Lavanda » Thu Mar 09, 2023 9:27 pm

We have those strawberries as well. They are really tasty kept at room temperature for a day and with the tops and white bits well chopped out. They are tasteless if they are eaten from the fridge but they only last a day warmed up.

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Wicksey
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Re: So why do I have no problem buying tomatoes?

Postby Wicksey » Fri Mar 10, 2023 10:02 am

Our German neighbour said that a cucumber is 2€ and the cherry tomatoes are 25€ a kilo at home in Germany. Aldi had strawberries on offer yesterday but I didn't buy any as they were very pale with white tops which we have found not to have any flavour in the past. I'm sure they differ each year depending on the weather.

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Re: So why do I have no problem buying tomatoes?

Postby olive » Fri Mar 10, 2023 11:10 am

Wicksey wrote: Fri Mar 10, 2023 10:02 am Our German neighbour said that a cucumber is 2€ and the cherry tomatoes are 25€ a kilo at home in Germany. Aldi had strawberries on offer yesterday but I didn't buy any as they were very pale with white tops which we have found not to have any flavour in the past. I'm sure they differ each year depending on the weather.
I wonder if the Germans are also blaming it on Brexit. :lolno:

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Re: So why do I have no problem buying tomatoes?

Postby Pamela1 » Fri Mar 10, 2023 11:54 am

Wicksey wrote: Fri Mar 10, 2023 10:02 am Our German neighbour said that a cucumber is 2€ and the cherry tomatoes are 25€ a kilo at home in Germany. Aldi had strawberries on offer yesterday but I didn't buy any as they were very pale with white tops which we have found not to have any flavour in the past. I'm sure they differ each year depending on the weather.
Crikey, their very own Aldi is selling them in the UK for around 75p. :lolno:

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Wicksey
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Re: So why do I have no problem buying tomatoes?

Postby Wicksey » Fri Mar 10, 2023 3:01 pm

olive wrote: Fri Mar 10, 2023 11:10 am
Wicksey wrote: Fri Mar 10, 2023 10:02 am Our German neighbour said that a cucumber is 2€ and the cherry tomatoes are 25€ a kilo at home in Germany. Aldi had strawberries on offer yesterday but I didn't buy any as they were very pale with white tops which we have found not to have any flavour in the past. I'm sure they differ each year depending on the weather.
I wonder if the Germans are also blaming it on Brexit. :lolno:
:lol: :lol:


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