Lettuce crops in Spain have been decimated by bad weather as UK supermarket rationing continues
Shocking pictures show lettuce crops that have been devastated by storms in Spain
NEW pictures show the extent of the damage inflicted on salad crops by severe weather in Spain.
The images show lettuces covered in mud with rotten leaves. Farmers say they don't expect the situation to improve anytime soon.
Figures published yesterday revealed how the vegetable shortage in Europe cost UK supermarkets at least £8million last month.
Courgette sales fell 58 per cent, while spinach and salad — including iceberg lettuce — sales have nearly halved.
The figures cover Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose, Co-op Food, M&S Food, Iceland and Ocado.
Supermarkets are now being forced to fly their greens in from the US, turning to growers in California and the Arizona desert.
But the cost of shipping lettuces across the Atlantic has seen the cost rocket. Lidl, for example, almost tripled the cost of its iceberg lettuces from 42p to £1.19, while Morrisons is charging £1.17, up from 50p.
Pictures out today show lettuce fields in southeastern Spain devastated by the storms. Harvests have been turned upside because of the catastrophic weather.
Supplies of courgettes, tomatoes, broccoli and peppers have also been hit by the Mediterranean weather leaving some supermarket shelves empty.
Shoppers have been warned the shortage could last as long as two months.
Dieter Lloyd, of the Leafy Salad Growers Association, told The Sun Online: "The weather in Spain has improved this week, with average temperatures around 22 degrees in the day and 14 degrees at night, but temperatures are set to drop again next week.
"The situation is dynamic and constantly changing. Sweet gem and baby gem lettuces are really tight at the moment, but they should recover quicker as they take around 4-5 weeks to grow, compared to 10-11 weeks for iceberg lettuce."
Lloyd added that the iceberg lettuces for sale from Spain also have a shorter shelf-life than normal due to the fact they have been growing in wet and cold conditions.
"Everything should return to normal by the end of March, early April," Lloyd said.
Poor growing conditions in Europe – mostly Italy and Spain – has meant there has been a lack of vegetable stock since the start of the new year.
In winter months Spain’s Murcia region supplies 80 per cent of Europe’s fresh produce. But the area has suffered its heaviest rainfall in 30 years – meaning 70 per cent of the growing fields are unusable.
Italy has also suffered a cold snap – meaning the region is having to import vegetables they usually export at this time of year.
The effects of shortages are particularly notable in Britain, which imports an estimated 50 per cent of its vegetables and 90 per cent of its fruit.
Which supermarkets are rationing lettuces?
Some retailers have placed restrictions on the amount of lettuces each customer can buy.
Tesco and Sainsbury's, for instance, have rationed customers to three iceberg lettuces per visit, while Asda allows six per customer.
A notice on an empty Tesco shelf read: “Due to continued weather problems in Spain there is a shortage of iceberg lettuce. “To protect the availability to all our customers, we are limiting bulk purchases to three per person. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
According to price comparison website mySupermarket.com, Tesco and Asda are currentlty selling the cheapest iceberg lettuces at the moment, at 75p respectively.
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