Summertime and fruit go hand-in-hand for most Brits, but many of us have struggled to get hold of some of our favourite fruits this summer and are wondering why.
You may have been greeted by a sign at your local supermarket, stating there is a limited supply of fruit on offer due to the border problems in Calais.
As we’ve all seen in the news, hundreds of migrants have been trying to make the crossing from Calais to Dover every day for the last few weeks, and this has, unfortunately, had quite a negative effect on the supply of fruit to the UK.
Hold ups and intimidation
The problem is that many freight carriers, which carry the fruit sold across our supermarkets, particularly those coming from Spain and Portugal, have been getting held up at the French port, while others have been systematically pulling the plug due to migrant intimidation on drivers.
While some of the imported fruit, which is reaching the UK, has already gone off because journey time has increased so much.
Possible solution
However, many supermarket chains have said they will begin to explore alternative means of supplying us with fruit. Other entry points are being considered, including Le Havre to Portsmouth, while Sainsbury’s and Morrisons may even consider air-freighting, which of course will be more expensive.
Let’s just hope our supermarkets are fully stocked with our favourite fruits sooner rather than later.