The owner of a Berrow farm shop and fresh produce market stall in Burnham-On-Sea has seen a boost in trade this week as local supermarkets struggle with supply issues.
Westcroft Farm Shop in Berrow has operated a weekly market stall every Thursday outside Burnham’s St Andrews Church Hall in Manor Road for the past eight years, pictured here.
Owner Annie Edwards has built up a loyal following of customers who rely on the shop for fresh produce — especially at the moment with local supermarkets Tesco, Aldi and Asda rationing sales amid supply issues for products such as tomatoes and salad due to recent bad weather in Spain and North Africa, and high energy costs for farmers.
Annie told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We are fortunate to have a very good supply of fresh produce for local customers, although we have seen the costs go up in recent weeks with the rising demand. We saw many of our loyal local customers at the stall on Thursday as well as quite a few different new faces.”
Full list of fruit and veg being rationed at supermarkets
Asda started rationing customers to just three of these products:
- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Cucumbers
- Lettuce
- Salad (bagged)
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Raspberries
The products limited in Aldi to three per customer are:
- Peppers
- Cucumbers
- Tomatoes
Tesco has a three per person limit on:
- Peppers
- Cucumbers
- Tomatoes
It isn’t clear how long these limits will remain in place for.
Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, with represents UK supermarkets, said: “Difficult weather conditions in the south of Europe and northern Africa have disrupted harvest for some fruit and vegetables including tomatoes.”
“However, 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.”
