‘Prices have just shot up’: Cafes feel the squeeze as tomato and cucumber costs soar

By Andy Morton

March 3 2023, 5:00 pm

Fruit and veg shortages are beginning to hit cafes including Lettuce Eat Healthy in Peterhead. Image: Chris Sumner/DC Thomson

North and north-east cafes are paying as much as double for tomatoes and cucumbers as shortages rock the UK.

Inverness coffee bar XOKO, which features tomato-heavy Mexican dishes on its menu, says wholesale costs for tomatoes have jumped from about £10-14 to more than £20 in the past two weeks.

XOKO’s Inverness wholesaler has also hiked cucumber prices up to £1.50 each from about £1.

Co-owner Tristan Aitchison says he is still able to get hold of the fruit and veg he needs. However, rising costs have put extra pressure on a business already buffeted by energy price hikes and staff shortages.

Tristan Aitchison at XOKO coffee bar in Inverness. Image: Jason Hedges/DC Thomson

“When you’re paying £20 for a box [of tomatoes], then obviously, that’s a big chunk of your profit coming out of that,” Tristan says.

Colin Redman, owner of the Birdhouse Café in Banchory, has also been shocked by recent wholesaler costs.

“Prices have just shot up,” he says. “It’s about 35-40% up at the moment – it’s massive.”

Colin adds that only some items are more expensive, and that his wholesaler, Turriffs of Montrose, keeps him well-informed of any changes.

And, like Tristan at XOKO, he is pleased not to face the same shortages as the supermarkets, where salad items such as tomatoes, cucumbers and red peppers are being rationed, if stock is available.

“I’ve considered selling some of my red peppers on eBay,” Colin jokes.

Colin Redman is considering selling peppers online. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

Plenty of tomatoes but eggs prices through the roof

In Peterhead, Lorraine Duthie is in good spirits.

Her cafe, Lettuce Eat Healthy, has so far side-stepped the salad shortages.

“We have been quite lucky,” she says. “We’ve had no problems getting any supplies at all.”

Lorraine gets her fruit and veg from Scotland’s major wholesale markets, in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Prices have gone up a little, but she’s still able to run her business.

“At the moment for any hospitality business, if you’re making money, you’re absolutely doing brilliant,” she says. “But even if you’re just breaking even, and maybe just making a little bit more, then you’re doing good.”