Britain Faces Cauliflower Shortage

14 August 2019, 11:46

Cauliflowers, sprouts, broccoli and cabbages will be in short supply in the immediate future due to flooding in the UK and a heatwave in parts of Europe.

Extreme weather conditions have caused cauliflower prices to soar and some farmers have suffered financial losses after the destruction of their crops.

The shortages were described as "very concerning" by a spokesman for the Brassica Growers Association.

"Crops can withstand a reasonable amount of variation in weather but the conditions in June were too much and as a result crops have suffered, and this is leading to a shortage of supply," the British Growers Association said.

Most of the UK's cauliflowers are grown in Lincolnshire, which experienced record amounts of rainfall and flooding in June that destroyed this year's crop.

People have voiced their concern about the environmental issues surrounding the cauliflower shortage on social media:

Waitrose, Asda, and Morrisons have a range of cauliflower heads currently available for sale on their websites.

Both Tesco and Sainsbury's currently only have organic cauliflower heads for sale on their websites.

They are priced at £2 each - £1 more expensive than their standard cauliflowers.

Others are less disappointed by the news of the shortage.