Burnham-On-Sea’s Tesco supermarket has begun rationing the number of iceberg lettuce, spinach and broccoli that customers can buy as problems in southern Europe cause a shortage across the UK.
The Burnham store in Ben Travers Way is rationing the number of Iceberg lettuces that each customer can purchase, as pictured above, and racks at the store were visibly lacking stock on Friday, shown below.
An extreme mix of drought followed by flooding and freezing conditions has severely affected growers in southern Spain, while poor conditions have also hit farmers in Italy, Greece and Turkey.
A notice in Burnham’s Tesco stores reads: “Due to continued weather problems in Spain there is a shortage on iceberg lettuce. To protect the availability to all our customers, we are limiting bulk purchases to 3 per person. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
A Tesco spokesperson added: ‘Due to bad weather conditions in Spain, we are experiencing a few availability issues, but are working with our suppliers to resolve them as quickly as possible.’
Experts have warned that if the weather does not improve in the coming weeks the problem may continue until April, with customers also hit by price rises.
Asda in Highbridge also apologised to customers that some of its stocks of certain vegetables were low because of the extreme weather.
