Smaller onions and carrots expected after heatwave

Growers have warned that the recent extreme temperatures and dry weather in the UK will stunt the growth of some crops and add to food price inflation.

Representatives from the fresh produce industry said the record temeratures and drought conditions in July will affect the size and quality of various vegetables including onions, carrots, cabbages and potatoes, The Telegraph reported.

Carrot grower Ian Hall from Tompsett Burgess Growers and the British Carrot Growers Association told the newspaper: “Because the crop is responsive to water and also with the temperature [as] once they get to say 28 degrees the carrots stop growing, the results are that the carrot crop are just not growing fast enough.”

He said carrots at supermarkets are likely to be smaller than usual and yields will be affected.

Tom Bradshaw, deputy president at the National Farmers’ Union, added: “Your onions, your potatoes, your carrots, your lettuce that require irrigation to grow, many of those farms have been using irrigation for several months now and will be getting to a situation where it is running very, very low and there will be some that are running out imminently.”

He stressed that farmers have had a tough growing season this year, which could contribute to further retail price inflation.

The Government convened its National Drought Group last week to discuss the current situation after the driest first half of a year in England since 1976.