Strontium Bitchings

 My local butcher is closing down this week. He says meat prices are so high, his customers can't afford to pay what he'd need to charge to stay in profit. Beef has risen in price 3 times recently. Even traditionally cheap cuts like ox tails are now ridiculously expensive. Once he ordered beef on a Monday and by the time they delivered it on Thursday and invoiced, it cost him £200 more than Monday's quoted price. Last week he sold £1200 worth of meat, and made £146. That's not enough for him to cover the shop's expenses, let alone pay himself a wage. He says one of the local 'mini-marts' which sells meat (including halal) told him they are in the same situation.

My vegetables just don't keep the way they used to. And by 'used to' I mean like 6 months to a year ago, not back in my rose tinted youth.

Let's take cucumbers as an example. Time was, I'd buy a cucumber, and it would last several days. So I wasn't having to eat cucumber for every meal. These days, one end of the cucumber will have gone squishy and slimy the day after I bought it. The non-squishy portions are often 'bruised' and would be squishy/slimy the next day. I'm throwing away big chunks of cucumber (and other vegetables), which I deeply resent.

Since I've seen the same problem with 2 different national supermarket chains, an independent greengrocer and my corner shop, it can't be supply chain? Can it?

Radio 4 was banging on about onions not keeping and rotting inside, because of the very wet weather we've had in the last few months. Surely all vegetables (a) won't respond the same way to wet weather, and (b) aren't all grown in flood-ridden England?

Anyone know what's up?