BRUSSELS sprouts grown in the UK could be off the menu this Christmas as heavy rain has caused a shortage.
Growers are warning that it may soon be too late to save the vegetables because they’re now too wet.
The British Growers Association (BGA) said there is only a “short timescale” remaining for the weather to improve, The Grocer reports.
If it doesn’t, the controversial Christmas dinner veggies would have to be shipped in from abroad.
The same issue applies to cauliflowers and cabbages, as they’re all part of the so-called brassica crop.
Lincolnshire, where 60 per cent of the crop is grown, has suffered following the wettest year so far since 2012.
This has made the harvesting of the crops “very difficult,” Jack Ward, chief executive of BGA, told The Grocer.
As the vegetables are now wet, the cost of getting them out has risen for farmers while the disease risk has shot up too.
Mr Ward added: “With the chances of things drying out being quite slim, the next step is starting to import [brassicas].”
He suggested continued rainfall could increase the risk of shortages over Christmas but added it was “too early to tell”.
The Sun has asked BGA how the shortage could impact the prices of the vegetables. We’ll update this article as soon as we get a response.
Last year, Brits were also warned about a Brussels sprout shortage after a heatwave scorched the crops.
While crisp and chip prices could rise after potato crops were ruined by flooding.
A beef shortage has also hit the UK, “pushing up supermarket prices” after protests by Irish farmers.
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