Lettuce shortage hits Eastbourne

Supermarkets are saying bad weather in Europe is having an impact on crops, which has caused some stores to ration iceberg lettuces and others to run out entirely.

Sainsbury’s in the Arndale Centre has shelves completely empty with signs saying, “Sorry, temporarily out of stock”, next to iceberg lettuce, little gem lettuce, and hearts of romaine.

An extreme mix of drought followed by flooding and freezing conditions has severely affected growers in southern Spain, while poor conditions have also hit farmers in Italy, Greece and Turkey.

There is also a shortage of brocolli, with Morrisons restricting the amount customers can buy.

This comes as the ‘courgette crisis’ in January is still having an effect. Businesses are also blaming the vegetable’s shortage on wet and cold weather on the continent.

Concerned healthy eaters have been sharing pictures of bare supermarket shelves with the hashtags #lettucecrisis and #courgettecrisis, while complaining that prices have nearly tripled in recent weeks.

Spain usually supplies half the vegetables on the European market during winter.

However, supermarkets have been forced to look as far afield as the US west coast to meet demand