Spanish cold snap could kill off your salad

Britain could be set for another salad shortage after a cold snap hit the main region that supplies the UK with iceberg lettuces.

a freak freeze in southern Spain has already led to a crop shortage and wholesale prices rocketing by 50 per cent in the past month.

importers are seeking alternative sources but it is feared there may still be shortages in our supermarkets.

Poor weather hit a variety of veg last year and now frosts and low temperatures have reduced harvests of iceberg lettuce by 25 per cent in the regions of almeria, Murcia and alicante. Broccoli and artichoke are also affected.

Even before the cold snap, the area had experienced one of its worst droughts on record which, in turn, left the crops even more vulnerable to frost.

to avoid a repeat, some lettuce retailers have already started arranging supplies from other regions such as north africa, according to trade journal the Grocer.

Salad brand Florette told the magazine: ‘to mitigate the risk in southern Spain, we have moved some supply to other areas of our grower network.’

But andy Weir, marketing director of wholesaler reynolds, warned: ‘Market prices are high and overall availability is reduced. it is quite likely as we approach the end of the Spanish leaf season that, if rainfall levels do not improve, availability will tighten even further.’