Christmas dinner at risk as farmers face one of the toughest harvests on record

Christmas dinner

Sitting down to Christmas dinner this year, your plate may be a bit more empty than usual, with farmers going through one of the toughest harvests on record.

Britain will be forced to rely on cold storage supplies as potato crops are predicted to hit a record low of 4.1 million tonnes.

Those buying for their Christmas dinner might also find empty shelves when they’re looking for cauliflower and broccoli, and smaller sprouts than usual.

Supply issues are being caused by a tough harvest, where heavy rain caused crop losses.

October had almost double the amount of rainfall than average thanks to Storms Agnes, Babet and Ciaran. This means waterlogged farms are struggling to meet festive demand.

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Fred Searle, editor of Fresh Produce Journal, said: “The British potato harvest has been hit hard by heavy rain and flooding in recent weeks, causing delayed lifting and large crop losses. This was preceded by a cold, wet spring and a cool summer with low light levels.

“With the potatoes that are in store, there’s likely to be enough supply to meet demand for the time being, but that might not be the case in the months ahead.”

Lincolnshire grower Martin Tate said: “There won’t be enough broccoli to supply the Christmas dinner demand.

“Cauliflower is still a problem, and you can expect to see empty trays over the next few weeks but may return to normal before Christmas. After some initial issues, brussels sprouts supplies look like they will be okay.”

But one of the country’s largest Brussels sprout suppliers, TH Clements, has said that they will be smaller than normal.

CEO Chris Gedney told BBC’s Farming Today: “Brussels sprouts are likely to be smaller this year as the larger ones tend to fall in the water and rot.”