Going to the vegetable department currently not only costs money, but also nerves.
The prices for cucumbers and tomatoes have exploded.
There are multiple reasons for that.
Stuttgart - Anyone who goes shopping at the moment will start swallowing at the checkout at the latest.
The prices in supermarkets and discounters have shot through the roof in recent months.
A wide variety of products were affected by the increases.
From scarce and expensive dairy products to toilet paper, consumers had to dig deeper into their pockets.
Food in particular has become more expensive in recent months.
Customers are now facing the next price shock.
And that of all things with vegetables, which can probably be found in every German kitchen: the prices for cucumbers and tomatoes shot through the roof in February.
For cucumbers, 3 euros per piece have to be shelled out.
The reasons for the inflation are varied.
Vegetable farmers in crisis: High energy prices and the weather make production difficult
Tomatoes and cucumbers are among the classic vegetables.
After numerous other types of vegetables, these two have now risen sharply in price, especially in the past few weeks, the prices for them have been climbing higher and higher.
On the one hand, this is due to the rise in energy prices.
In the winter months, German supermarkets mostly buy cucumbers and tomatoes from Spain or the Netherlands.
In the latter country of origin, due to high energy prices, many farmers turn off the lights in the greenhouses to save electricity and money.
Production was even completely shut down in some places.
Meanwhile, the Spanish market has tried to compensate for these missing volumes from the Netherlands.
But in vain.
Because the weather, of all things, puts a spoke in the wheel here.
In Spain, the onset of winter caused snow masses on the popular holiday island of Mallorca, among other places.
With night-time temperatures around 0 to a maximum of 4 degrees, the harvest quantities are correspondingly low.
This affected the prices of goods in German supermarkets.
Even those who wanted to use regional cucumbers and tomatoes to save money were disappointed.
The products also became more and more expensive.
It is particularly annoying when the expensive vegetables go bad after a short time.
But be careful: Not every food can be stored in the fridge.
Production of tomatoes and cucumbers is ramped up - prices could soon normalize again
Dutch vegetable farmers are now slowly starting to ramp up production again.
And in Germany, too, the harvest has now begun.
As the temperatures are now getting milder, more vegetables can also be produced.
It is therefore to be expected that prices will normalize again.
Then going to the vegetable department should be easier again.
If you not only want to do something good for your wallet, but also for the environment, you can also upcycle food.
With four simple tricks you can save food and money.