UK facing broccoli and cauliflower shortage due to climate breakdown
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Shortages to lengthen UK’s ‘hungry gap’ between April and early June. Staple vegetables including broccoli and cauliflower could be in short supply this season, farmers have warned. Mild temperatures in autumn and winter have meant that the crops have come up early, leaving fewer to be picked during the usual spring season.
![[Mild temperatures in autumn and winter have meant that the crops have come up early.]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/15/08/iStock-1339336021.jpg)
Growers have warned that it will also be harder to import the vegetables from the continent as floods in key areas have left many farmers in areas they usually grow in unable to plant in time for the spring harvest. The shortages will lengthen the UK’s “hungry gap”, which is the period between April and early June where few of the crops grown in the country the are ready to be harvested.
Hannah Croft, an agronomist at Riverford, an organic vegetable box company, told The Guardian: “UK cauliflowers have faced weather challenges including significant rainfall in autumn, which caused some losses in early crops, while mild temperatures brought winter cauliflowers ahead of schedule.”.
She added: “Our Spanish suppliers, who grow much of our winter broccoli, have faced setbacks due to heavy autumn rain, which caused quality issues and delayed planting for spring crops. This has pushed harvest schedules forward, meaning there’s a possibility of a gap in late spring”.
Ms Croft advised those looking to replace brassicas to use spring greens and other cabbages instead. The Met Office has warned that farming in the UK will be affected by climate change, as hotter weather, water shortages and other changing conditions impact yield.
