Supermarkets across the country have been forced to limit the amount of iceberg lettuce and broccoli customers can buy.

Poor weather conditions in southern Europe are to blame for the reduced availability. Flooding late last year and the enduring cold weather caused severe crop damage in the region.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Tesco, the UK’s biggest supermarket chain, which boasts over 3,000 stores across the country, announced that customers would be restricted to buying no more than three lettuces.

“Due to bad weather conditions in Spain, we are experiencing some availability issues but are working with our suppliers to resolve them as quickly as possible,” said a Tesco spokesman today. “To make sure customers don’t miss out, we are asking them to limit the number of iceberg lettuces they buy to three.”

Ocado, the online grocer, said it was not limiting the quantity of vegetables on offer, but urged consumers to be “flexible” about brands or varieties of the fresh produce affected by the shortage.

The discount supermarket chain Lidl increased the price its iceberg lettuce to £1.19 from 42p, despite issuing a statement saying that they are not experiencing any stock issues.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

“The change [price increase] was made in response to other retail price changes in the market,” a spokeswoman from Lidl told Verdict. 

The price of lettuce also went up at Sainsbury’s, the second largest UK supermarket, from 50p to £1.40.

One man from Acocks Green in Birmingham saw the supply crisis as an opportunity to make some extra cash.

He decided to sell a box of a dozen Iceberg lettuce on the British e-commerce website Gumtree for a staggering £50 ($62) — £4.16 per lettuce. An iceberg lettuce from Morrisons retails at £1.17.

Anxious shoppes vented their frustration on Twitter, posting photos of empty supermarket shelves.

“Supermarkets are working closely with their suppliers to resolve these issues as quickly as possible to ensure a minimum level of disruption for their customers,” said a spokeswoman from the British Retail Consortium,the trade association for the UK retail industry in a statement issued to Verdict.

The UK is not the only country affected by the lower stocks of leafy vegetables.

“Southern Spain provides around 80 percent of the fresh produce for the EU out of season, so it is not just the UK,” Dieter Lloyd, from the British Leafy Salads Association told BBC Radio 5Live.

“There are still stocks coming in, albeit at a reduced rate – I have seen it is as low as 30-50 percent of what we normally have – but the challenge is we are not the only people buying it. With Germany, France and the rest of the EU too, the people who are prepared to pay are going to get it,” he added.