Cucumbers will get the chop when farmers see the heating bills

FARMERS have warned of a “cucumber crisis” as higher energy bills, fuelled by the war in Ukraine, drive up the costs of running greenhouses.

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) said it faced a “serious situation” as rising gas prices mean some producers will have to sharply reduce their crop. In an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Minette Batters, the NFU president, said: “The impact is being felt most harshly in the protected crop sectors, so that’s aubergines, peppers, cucumbers.

“We’re seeing massive contraction because, for these businesses, 50 per cent of costs depend on the price of gas.” The price of wholesale gas has touched record levels since Russia invaded Ukraine just over two weeks ago, as the conflict added to concerns about disruption.

Natural gas, which is used to produce around 40 percent of electricity in the UK, has risen as much as tenfold compared to last year’s prices. The EU sources 40 per cent of its gas from Russia, with Ukraine used as a key route.

In comparison, Britain imports only 4 per cent of gas from Russia, but it is still expected to feel the ripple effects of a shortage of supply to Europe, which is likely to squeeze wholesale markets. Ms Batters said farmers have been “talking about going from 80 million cucumbers to 35 million, 100m peppers to 15m.

“The easiest thing with these massive costs – the only thing – is to keep these glass houses empty.

“It’s a very serious situation in that sector and this situation isn’t going away any time soon.”

The war is expected to have a significant impact on the agriculture sector as the country, nicknamed “Europe’s breadbasket”, is the world’s second-biggest shipper of grains and largest exporter of sunflower oil. President Volodymyr Zelensky urged farmers to sow as many fields as possible but large agribusinesses say some plantings will not happen if the conflict continues.