UK: Due to supply shortages, the largest grocery chain in the UK, Tesco, has joined rivals Asda, Morrisons, and Aldi in imposing limits on purchases of salad vegetables. Tesco made the announcement on Wednesday.

Tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers will now only be sold in quantities of three per person, according to Tesco. The business explained that it was implementing these limits as a preventative measure to make sure that more people could access the products they required.

Aldi, a low-cost grocery store chain, has also imposed a "temporary" three-item restriction on these vegetables. For eight products, including broccoli and raspberries, Asda has a limit of three purchases per person, while Morrisons has a limit of two purchases per person for four products, including broccoli.

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According to analysts, there are two causes for the current problems. First, over the past month, cold temperatures, rain, and flooding have hampered harvests and halted deliveries at suppliers in Morocco and Spain, the UK's two main wintertime sources of fresh vegetables. Second, because of rising energy costs, UK farmers have had trouble lighting their greenhouses.

Until the growing season begins and stores find alternative suppliers, supply shortages are likely to last a "few weeks," according to the British Retail Consortium, which represents all the major UK supermarkets.

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Theresa Coffey, the UK's secretary of state for the environment, suggested on Thursday that instead of hankering after foreign tomatoes, British consumers should switch to turnips and other seasonal UK vegetables.

Many people would be eating turnips right now instead of necessarily thinking about aspects of lettuce, tomatoes, and other things similar.

But she added, "I'm aware that consumers want a year-round selection, and our supermarkets, food producers, and growers around the world work to meet that need.

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Industry experts caution that price increases could occur as a result of the shortages in the upcoming weeks. As of December, food prices in the UK had increased 16.8% year over year, which is the fastest rate of growth in more than 40 years.