‘Worst we’ve known’: UK turns to imports as drought and heat hit vegetable crops

Growers in dismay after scorching weather and lack of rain affect yields, sending wholesale prices rocketing Pubs, restaurants and supermarkets are having to buy lettuce and broccoli from Spain at what should be the height of UK growing season, as drought and extreme heat hit crops. The wholesale price of tomatoes is up by more than 60%, iceberg lettuce by 90% and potatoes by more than 40% as a number of farmers struggle to grow in consistently high temperatures. Even those with irrigation systems and reservoirs on their farms say water is running low. Broccoli growers say their yield has halved. “We are having to put two heads of broccoli together to make the weight the pack is sold in,” said David Simmons from Riviera Produce. He grows a variety of vegetables on his family’s farm in Cornwall and is also on the board of the Brassica Growers’ Association, a trade body. “The UK is very short [of broccoli] at the moment, so it’s being imported from Spain and Holland to try to cover the orders,” Simmons said. “Cauliflowers could go short in the next couple of weeks, we can see that being the next issue.” The English pea harvest is down by a third, according to Stephe