- Growers say high temperatures and lack of rain are causing a broccoli shortage
- The iron-rich vegetable will soon be missing from supermarket shelves, they say
- David Simmons, from Riviera Produce, says a lot of rain is needed to keep crops growing
If your children aren’t enjoying the heatwave already, they will now – the high temperatures and lack of rain are causing a shortage of broccoli.
Growers say if it doesn’t start raining soon, the iron-rich vegetable that many children love to hate will soon be missing from supermarket shelves.
David Simmons, from Riviera Produce, one of the country’s largest producers of broccoli, said: ‘We need a lot of rain and cooler conditions to keep these crops going through the summer, otherwise the situation will get progressively worse and we could see a real shortage.
The high temperatures and lack of rain are causing a shortage of broccoli, growers say
‘These crops need a lot of water regularly and we simply have not had it.
‘Unless there’s a change in the weather soon, it will have an impact on availability and quality.’
There will be no help from growers in Europe, with conditions across the Continent leading to a widespread low broccoli yield.
The weather has also led to a cauliflower shortage, and the British Leafy Salad Growers Association has raised an alert, saying the heat was wreaking ‘havoc’ on harvests.
Britain suffered a broccoli shortage earlier this year, when crops were blanketed by heavy snow and then sweltered in the hottest April in 70 years.
The weather has also led to a cauliflower shortage. The British Leafy Salad Growers Association has raised an alert, saying the heat was wreaking ‘havoc’ on harvests
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