Surprisingly, the Britons are likely to suffer from malnutrition this spring due to the lack of fresh vegetables. Soaring gas prices forced UK farmers to close vast glasshouses as they cannot provide enough heat to grow crops. The gas shortage is exacerbated by the deficit of fertilizers.
British farmers are facing the dilemma: either to terminate their business or pump up producer prices that will end up in exorbitant retail prices at a time of incredible consumer inflation. Montalbano is one of the largest suppliers to a number of supermarket groups including market leader Tesco, Sainsbury's, and Morrisons. The owner admits that he has to wind up the flourishing business. The company has to pay for natural gas 16 times as high as it did in 2021. Last year, it cost about 25 pence to produce a regular size cucumber in Britain. This season, the production cost has hit 70 pence. Apart from cucumbers, elsewhere in the UK, farmers failed to plant peppers, aubergines, and tomatoes.
Experts are alarmed about massive contraction in production rates in the food industry. “Any cut in production from suppliers would undoubtedly put further pressure on prices," said Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at retail industry lobby group the British Retail Consortium. Indeed, the increase in production costs leads to higher prices on the shelf.
To grow decent crops in gloomy weather, farmers need electricity to provide sufficient light and heat. Poor sunlight and high humidity make sprouts vulnerable. Sky-high prices of gas and electricity wrecked all efforts of British farmers to plant enough vegetables this spring.
