Potato prices soar amid record rainfall

POTATO prices are soaring as the cost of Britain’s record rainfall hits the nation’s shopping baskets.

Some farmers, whose land has been under water for months, face having no spring harvest of veg for the first time since the Second World War. And many have been unable to plant other crops in waterlogged fields.

Most supermarkets have already shrunk potato pack sizes from 2.5kg to 2kg without any decrease in price. The net effect is a secret cost hike to shoppers of around 25 per cent per kilo. At the same time, stores are expected to allow smaller, wonky veg on to shelves.

Last year, several retailers restricted purchases of fresh produce, including tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, after extreme weather hit producers in Europe.

Stores will look to avoid a repeat for UK vegetables by importing more, which will push up prices. Recent storms mean only a third of winter crops that have been established have reached the expected growth stages and quality. There are estimates that the 2024 harvested wheat tonnage could be reduced by one third on a year-on-year average.

And some sheep farmers have raised concerns that bad weather is linked to a rise in the number of lambs that are dead at birth.

Henry Ward’s 200-acre farm in Lincolnshire has been flooded since October. He said: ‘We have been under water for nearly six months – at the peak it was nearly three metres deep. I am not going to have a harvest on that block of land. That has never happened before. At the peak of the floods, there were 2,000 acres in this area under water.’

He added: ‘Some 25 per cent of Britain’s fresh vegetables are produced on the fens of Lincolnshire, but we are under water. We are going to have food shortages.’

Mr Ward said the problem had been exacerbated by the fact that a government fund designed to help farmers cope has ruled that many are not eligible for grants of up to £25,000. National Farmers Union vice-president Rachel Hallos said: ‘A crisis is building. While farmers are bearing the brunt of it now, consumers may well see the effects through the year.’

She confirmed the problems with the Government’s Farming Recovery Fund. ‘We are hearing from numerous members who have suffered catastrophic impacts who have been told they are not eligible for the fund because some of their affected areas are more than 150 metres from main rivers,’ she said.