By Ben Garcia

KUWAIT: There is a shortage of onions and other vegetables in many supermarkets and groceries all over Kuwait. In some hypermarkets, produce is available, but for 500 to 750 fils per kilo instead of the regular 250 to 385 fils per kilo.

Yesterday, Kuwait Times went around Salmiya, Rai, Farwaniya and Kuwait City and found very little to no vegetables in the storage and display sections of stores. In some co-ops too, there are reported shortages of onions and other green vegetables, according to customers.

"I informed some of my customers last week that we are going to run out of stock, especially of onions and other veggies. Now, this is happening," said a manager of a chain of hypermarkets in Kuwait on the condition of anonymity. "But no worries, because the shortage is temporary - we will have deliveries of produce by mid-next week. The problem is that even in the places from where we get our vegetables, supply is low," he added.

He said due to the suspension of commercial flights, shortages of vegetables and other produce was bound to happen. "Before we got supplies delivered from India daily - it's just a few hours' journey from here. But now we need to wait for cargo flights to arrive before we can replenish our stocks," he said.