Hello @Daf
Ive already given a response to the Bloomberg report on an earlier comment – it was a “guesstimate” so basically we could be loosing nothing to say 500bn who knows.
The ecdc also has reported, Between 3 December 2022 and 1 March 2023 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A (H5N1) virus, clade 2.3.4.4b, was reported in Europe in domestic (522) and wild (1,138) birds over 24 countries.
Then there the bad weather seen across Europe and north AFica that has seen shortages of frut and veg and delayed shipments (March 2023)
Production problems in Morocco – one of the largest exporters of tomatoes to the UK – began in January with unusually cold night-time temperatures affecting tomato ripening. Heavy rain and flooding followed, destroying crops.
The unsettled conditions have also affected suppliers, as ferry cancellations meant produce failed to make the crossing to Europe, leaving lorry drivers unable to make deliveries.
Supplies from Britain’s other major winter source of fresh produce, Spain, have also been affected by unsettled conditions.
High temperatures in the autumn and early winter, followed by a sustained cold spell, have caused shortages across product ranges.
In the Almería region, volumes of tomatoes have been down by nearly a quarter, according to Coexphal – the Association of Organisations of Fruit and Vegetable Producers of the province of Almería.
Cucumber production has fallen by 21 per cent, while peppers and aubergines are down 25 per cent.
However, there are also longer-term issues. Farmers throughout Europe – (including in the UK) – have been affected by increased costs over the past 12 months, driven by rising energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Research published by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) in November found the cost of growing a tomato increased by 27 per cent between 2021 and 2022.
Similar increases were found with other crops, including lettuce, broccoli and potatoes, due to the cost of having to heat greenhouses.
It meant growers in Britain and northern Europe planted fewer vegetables for the winter harvest, increasing the UK’s reliance on produce from warmer climates such as Spain and northern Africa.
“Growers simply didn’t put them in the ground. They’d rather wait on warmer weather when they don’t have to rely on heating,” said Jack Ward, chief executive of the British Growers Association.
“Not only did we not plant, but great swathes of the Netherlands did not plant for exactly the same reason.
“So we’ve become overly dependent on Spain and Morocco and probably there was never enough capacity in those countries to do what they were already doing, let alone make up for the shortfall in northern Europe.”
Resourses from both the ECDC and the NFU, which has also said UK growers have been hit by a rise in labour costs and to a lesser extent shortage of high skilled workers.
Since when has the weather or rising costs aslo seen across Europe got anything to do with brexit.
Why do you assume and incline on this thread or the other, I must be a Tory voter to vote leave?