Lidl to sell ‘stunted’ fruit and vegetables amid UK drought
Lidl will start selling fruit and vegetables “stunted” by UK drought conditions as part of efforts to support farmers struggling with the driest summer for 50 years.
The discount supermarket said it had written to its British suppliers who may need extra support, and would try to accommodate produce hit by extreme weather, even if they were different from what shoppers were used to.
Lidl said it wanted to ensure that perfectly good fruit and vegetables did not go to waste.
“Farmers across the country are facing a big challenge this year due to the extreme weather conditions experienced over the summer months,” said Lidl GB’s chief executive, Ryan McDonnell.
“Whilst the crop coming out may look and feel a bit different to what we’re all used to, it’s still the same great British quality,” he added. “We therefore want to show support for our suppliers by working with them to find solutions to help.”
Several areas of the UK are still in drought despite heavy rain and thunderstorms over the past week. Drought was officially declared across eight regions of England on Friday 12 August, with a ninth, Yorkshire, added a few days later.
Experts from the National Drought Group have since warned of widespread crop failures across England. According to leaked documents seen by the Guardian, the group has raised concerns that half of the potato crop could fail as it cannot be irrigated owing to hosepipe bans, and that crops that are usually drought-tolerant, such as maize, have been failing.
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They are also expecting losses of 10-50% for crops including carrots, onions, sugar beet, apples and hops. Milk
Read more on theguardian.com
