Morrisons is currently limiting purchases of peppers to two per customer (Picture: Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Several UK supermarkets are beginning to run out of peppers due to shortages in Europe.
Major British stores source their peppers exclusively from Spain during the winter months, but the country has experienced ‘unseasonably cold weather’ as of late.
An industry source told The Times: ‘Spain is key for supplying British retailers during winter, and almost every retailer in the UK will source peppers from here.
‘They need warmth and light to develop – green into yellow then into red.’
Morrisons is currently limiting purchases to two per customer, but said it hopes to lift this within in the next week.
Waitrose, which is also experiencing shortages, said it was ‘working hard with suppliers to get a full range back on shelves’.
The supermarket added it expected stock levels to stabilise in the coming weeks as the UK moves into its growing season.
Tesco is not experiencing shortages as it is not sourcing peppers from Spain at the moment, and Aldi and Lidl say they also have good availability.
There were significant shortages of fruit and vegetables in February this year (Picture: Getty Images)
Shoppers faced fruit and vegetable shortages in February this year following a mixture of bad weather, transport issues and poor yields in Europe and Africa.
Supermarket giants placed purchasing limits on products including tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries.
Customers were urged not to panic buy after frustration spread across social media.
The British Retail Consortium, which represents UK supermarkets, blamed ‘difficult weather conditions’ for ‘disrupting harvests’ at the time.
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Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability, said: ‘While disruption is expected to last a few weeks, supermarkets are adept at managing supply chain issues and are working with farmers to ensure that customers are able to access a wide range of fresh produce.’
The National Farmers’ Union said at the time shortages of some fruit and vegetables in UK supermarkets could be ‘the tip of the iceberg’.
Deputy president Tom Bradshaw said a reliance on imports had left the UK vulnerable to ‘shock weather events’.
Metro has contacted the major supermarket brands for comment.
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It is due to ‘unseasonably cold weather’ in Spain.