A 'salad crisis' affecting British supermarkets hit headlines earlier this year but shoppers across Europe and the Middle East seeking basic groceries are also finding gaps on the shelves.
A shopper walks next to a photographic depiction of tomatoes on a Tesco supermarket as Britain experiences a seasonal shortage of some fruit and vegetables, in London, Britain, February 26, 2023. REUTERS/Toby MelvilleLONDON/BARCELONA, May 3 - A "salad crisis" affecting British supermarkets hit headlines earlier this year but shoppers across Europe and the Middle East seeking some basic groceries - from pasta to beer to toothpaste - are also finding gaps on the shelves.
"The inflationary pressure that has happened of late ... means that people are switching out of certain products in a more unpredictable way, in a more brutal way than they have done historically," said Luke Jensen, executive director at British online supermarket Ocado. Like many supermarket operators, Majid Al Futtaim Retail uses artificial intelligence to monitor and order about 90% of food supplies for its Carrefour stores across the Middle East.
Changes to shopping habits as a result of COVID-19 lockdowns and the growth of online retail are also a factor, although with lifestyles still adjusting after the pandemic, it's hard to predict to what extent people will return to stores. Suppliers too are struggling to pin down what consumers will want, while rising commodities prices, shipping logjams and shortages of raw materials and labour have stopped them fulfilling some orders.
"This has created a major, major issue around out-of-stock" in most of the 16 Middle Eastern countries where the company operates, he said.
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