Have you noticed how much even a bag of common-or-garden carrots can set you back at the moment? The latest ONS figures have them up over 30 per cent since 2022 (77p/kg, up from 58p), while peas are up nearly 40 per cent and cauliflower has increased by more than 21 per cent. Poor weather and higher fertiliser costs have had a huge impact on British veg, creating a perfect storm which saw crops more expensive to maintain, while the wet weather affected the final product.
In January, Tesco agreed to accept smaller vegetables after so many farmers had crops affected by extreme weather. The supermarket – which is slashing the prices of some vegetables over the Easter weekend – bought smaller cauliflowers, cabbages and leeks (it’s still doing so from some suppliers) in order to keep British vegetables on the shelves rather than having to resort to imports.
One of our biggest vegetable producers, TH Clements, in Lincolnshire, has battled sodden fields, racing against the elements to get veg on the shelves. In January they’d only had a handful of dry days since October. The bad luck has continued. “The challenging winter that gave us the challenges over Christmas has ultimately continued in January, February, March,” says John Moulding, commercial director. “It’s led to challenging harvesting conditions and challenging growing conditions for Easter volume.”
Tesco are working with TH Clements, which grows broccoli, cabbage, leeks and cauliflower, to “utilise the crop as best we can”, says Moulding. But he fears there isn’t an end in sight for his rain soaked fields. “Conditions are very very difficult. The land is still really wet, a lot of fields are waterlogged, we’ve lost a lot of crop through the season.”
If you’re planning a cheese sauce with that cauli, however, there is some good news. Dairy has skyrocketed over the past two years (cheese is up by over 40 per cent since 2022, milk by over 30 per cent), but, helpfully, things have plateaued somewhat. A pint of milk is 5p/pint cheaper than it was a year ago, while a block of cheddar is 6p cheaper.
Getting cross about buns
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
