The costs of the Christmas vegetable price war

As consumers, we are overwhelmed by the choice of products throughout the Christmas period. The enormous price cuts to British produce such as carrots, potatoes, and parsnips have become part and parcel of the lead up to the big day. In Asda and Aldi, vegetables are sold at no more than 8p a bag. It is a bargain for the Christmas shopper, something that is particularly the case in the current cost-of-living crisis.

Fundamentally, supermarkets are the ones who benefit from the price cuts. Although supermarkets make less profit per unit, consumers are lured by the charmingly cheap vegetable prices. Because it is convenient to complete Christmas food shopping at the same location, they will complete the rest of their shop there. For example, in 2024, Lidl made over a 7% increase in sales in the Christmas period, equating to more than £1 billion.

This strategy started 10 years ago, when Tesco’s then chief executive, Dave Lewis, was looking for a way to boost sales in a time of hardship for the company. In December 2014, the supermarket offered carrots, potatoes, and a range of other vegetables for 49p each. The following year, Aldi began selling vegetables at 19p a bag. Due to the supermarket industry being an oligopoly, retailers are at risk of losing significant sales if they do join their competitors in cutting prices, especially when there is such a high demand for affordable food during the Christmas period.

However, this benefit for both the consumer and the supermarket comes at a cost to the farmers that grow the produce. Ashwan Prawad, Tesco’s Chief Commercial Officer, stated: “Long-term contracts with […] farmer partners provide certainty over the price they’ll receive for their produce, giving them confidence to invest and grow their businesses.” Although farmers’ income from supermarkets generally remains stable during this period due to contractual obligation, the cheapening of their produce contributes to the favouring of mass-produced, unsustainable production practices. Over time, this will lead to a significantly reduced, or non-existent demand for farmers’ labour.

We can expect a great deterioration in the quality of our food, as well as increased unemployment amongst those in the farming sector

Farmers are reliant on just a few major retailers. This dependence is detrimental for their businesses. The harm to generational livelihoods is greatly overlooked, with thousands of small and medium-sized farms in Europe shut down each year as a result of this. The difficulties farmers face are further compounded by the challenges of Brexit, tax reforms, and climate change. The inevitability of structural unemployment will place increased strain on local economies, increasing relative poverty and leading to more prevalent income inequality nationally.

Moreover, by decreasing prices so substantially before Christmas, consumers are led to question why they cannot purchase more affordable vegetables throughout the rest of the year.

The costs of the Christmas vegetable price war are imminent, with the ignorance of consumers contributing to the increased greed of large corporations. Vegetables being 8p for a couple of weeks of the year may seem insignificant but contributes to a much greater problem. If the farming industry becomes wholly controlled by the supermarket oligopoly, we can expect a great deterioration in the quality of our food, as well as increased unemployment amongst those in the farming sector.