Warnings of vegetable shortages after wet April and hot summer

Some vegetable growers are warning of possible shortages in the new year after this year’s series of extreme weather conditions led to low yields.

Growers of carrots, brassicas, onions, parsnips, potatoes and leeks have reported a drop in the size of the vegetables and overall yields after a year that has seen delays to planting because of freezing temperatures and an exceptionally wet April, then a scorching summer that halted or seriously damaged growth.

Leek Growers Association chairman Tim Casey said some growers were already reducing deliveries to customers in an attempt to give crops longer in the field, but growth was so slow that yields had reduced by 23 per cent.

He said: “Leek growing and harvesting has never been easy, but we have never seen a year like this one, our leek crops have really struggled.

“Crops have not grown to size before the onset of winter, so customers should expect smaller and more variable leeks this winter. Smaller leeks and lower volumes are likely to result in shortages in the New Year.”

He said normally the UK would expect to import a proportion of its leeks to make up for shortfalls, but similar conditions across Europe meant this was not an option this year.

One Lincolnshire parsnip grower said the extreme summer heat caused six weeks of growing time to be lost, which came on top of the wet spring that forced the delay of planting to May and the beginning of June, instead of the usual April.

He said: “It’s not going to be the big yields of past years. The parsnips are going to be small, and the yields will be smaller.

“Everybody tries to play it down, but there will be a shortage after Christmas. Most packers are trying to save the best for the lead-up to Christmas.”

Rob Clayton, strategy director at Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) Potatoes, said early indications suggested that yields would be down between 10 per cent and 20 per cent this year.

Hesaidconsumerswerelikely to see smaller potatoes that cost a “few pence” more, but added: “We’re not going to see empty shelves, but what’s on those shelves might look a little different.

“The season started with sub-zero temperatures brought by the ‘Beast from the