Breaking News English

Shoppers in the United Kingdom (U.K.) are having to [hurt / hunt] around to find supplies of fruit and vegetables. Britain's [major / majorly] supermarkets are rationing produce like cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes [middle / amid] shortages from suppliers. The big chains have [sighted / cited] various reasons for the shortfall in supply that has [let / left] shelves bare in green-grocery [aisles / ails] . Britain's biggest supermarket chain, Tesco, has limited purchases [on / of] certain vegetables to three [for / per] customer. Tesco attributed its shortages to adverse weather overseas. In particular, it said a [drought / draught] in Morocco had led to poor yields. Tesco [assured / assumed] customers it was working day and night to "get things back to normal".

Other factors are being blamed [for / of] the rationing. Britain's farmers' union said higher energy costs meant it was no longer financially [fallible / viable] for many growers to operate. It also said a tomato disease has wiped [in / out] a lot of crops across northern Europe. Industry [analysis / analyst] James Walton said Brexit has [played / done] a part in distribution problems. He said: "The EU accounts for much of the UK's import [noise / volume] . If there are shortfalls [in / at] production in the EU, then it makes [sense / sensible] for EU producers to serve their local demand first. This leaves less available for export to the U.K." Many shoppers are [perplexed / perplexing] at seeing photos on social media of supermarket shelves across Europe, and in war-torn Ukraine, laden [to / with] fresh produce.