UPDATE - UK supermarkets facing vegetable shortages

REVISES HEADLINE, ADDS MORE DETAILS

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Supermarkets across Britain are lined with empty shelves due to supply issues for fresh products, which has led to rationing of some fruits and vegetables.

Aldi and Tesco have become the latest supermarket chains facing shortages of some vegetables, following others like Asda, Morrisons, Iceland and M&S.

An Aldi in north London is a typical of example of the problem faced by many supermarkets, with its shelves devoid of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and broccoli.

Aldi, the UK’s fourth largest grocery retailer with over 990 stores across the country, had already announced that it would open its 1,000th store this year, according to its website.

Meanwhile, Tesco joined other supermarket chains in placing limits on how many items of certain vegetables customers can buy.

Other supermarkets like M&S, Sainsbury's, Iceland and Co-op are facing a similar situation as customers currently can’t find tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers at some of their stores.

Bad weather causing poor harvests in North Africa and Spain was reportedly among the reasons behind the supply issue.

Local markets are also being affected, with some selling certain vegetables at much higher prices.

Aziziye market, also located in north London, told Anadolu that the price of a box of tomatoes equal to four to five kilograms (8.8 to 11 pounds) had risen to £20 ($24) from around £7 ($8.43) nearly a week ago.

"At the moment, poor weather conditions in Spain and Morocco have disrupted harvests for some fruit and vegetables including tomatoes and peppers, but rest assured, retailers are doing all they can to sort it," the British Retail Consortium said Tuesday.