Several grocery chains in the UK are limiting the amount of lettuce customers can buy in a single visit due to vegetable shortages caused by cold winter weather in Spain and other southern EU nations.
The shortage has even created a lettuce black market, with boxes of iceberg lettuce that normally cost $6.25 selling for $62.49 on the UK’s Craigslist-style website Gumtree, The Guardian reports.
Bad winter weather around the Mediterranean has reduced crops by an estimated 60 percent this season, the Daily Mail reports, and the price of lettuce in particular has jumped. Many stores have completely run out of zucchinis and eggplants.
One store hung a notice saying that “Due to continued weather problems in Spain there is a shortage of iceberg lettuce. To protect the availability to all our customers, we are limiting bulk purchases to three per person. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
Shoppers are using social media to post about the shortage of lettuce, and the high price of vegetables at local supermarkets.
My local Tesco also affected by the lettuce and salad rationing. Not much there to ration though! pic.twitter.com/NX0Mo99Fts
— Rob Gregory (@RobGregOnRetail) February 2, 2017
Just got home and checked my receipt £1.19 for iceberg lettuce ??it said 44p on the shelf.@AldiUK please assist . pic.twitter.com/siPJM4YfNu
— Cameron Viveiros (@cameroncape22) February 3, 2017
@Pamplemoose_x Hi there, sadly due to the poor weather in Spain and Europe in recent months our suppliers have sufferd shortages. 1/2
— Tesco (@Tesco) February 2, 2017
Some are even offering to sell their heads of lettuce on Twitter to make a buck.
Iceberg lettuce for sale £2.50ono #rations #crisis #vegtables DM for more details pic.twitter.com/ckOf8Ps0H9
— Gary Day (@Dayer1976) February 3, 2017
Anyone looking to buy #lettuce? DM me as I have a car load and am willing to offer ‘reasonable’ prices.#lettucecrisis
— Parveen Agnihotri (@Parveen_Comms) February 3, 2017
The shortage in iceberg lettuce imported from Spain could last a few months, according to Nick Padley, a fruit and vegetable wholesaler in the UK, and some stores will start importing lettuce from the U.S.
“There’s a gap of about six weeks on iceberg lettuce, nothing is coming from Spain for six to eight weeks,” Padley told the BBC. “Our supplier is now going to be bringing in iceberg from America which is obviously costing more. It’s a tough time.”
Follow Thomas Phippen on Twitter
Send tips to thomas@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.