News

The UK could be at risk of a roast potato shortage this Christmas

You best believe we'll be stocking our freezers with spuds where we can.

Danny Jones - 29th November 2023

Ok, we don’t mean to alarm you but, according to the latest reports, Christmas dinner plates could be at risk of scrimping on a major component as there is a threat of a roast potato shortage this holiday season.

Please, for the love of all things holy and festive, no — we’ll do anything to protect our roasties and gravy.

While there’s often talk of supermarket shortages and supply problems when it comes to the busiest time of year, it seems that the Great British potato-loving people might genuinely have to cut back on the amount of roast spuds we intend to eat over the next few months due to recent storms.

Following what has already gone down as one of the toughest harvests on record, the yield of potato crops has been hit hard by the ‘Autumn washout’, with fields being waterlogged by the likes of Storm Babet, Ciarán, Debi and more, meaning that farmers have been unable to harvest lots of their produce.

Christmas dinner roast potatoes under threat as storms lead to 'lowest crop on record' https://t.co/7XjGkEth6c
— ITV News (@itvnews) November 27, 2023

Poor plot conditions over the past few months could result in a roast potato shortage and more this Christmas.

Showing clips of agricultural machinery stuck in the thick mud and ever so slowly rotting potatoes in a news feature earlier this week, ITV’s Ben Chapman spoke to food producers in Lincolnshire who revealed they are going to lose “at least 5-10% of [their] crop” due to the boggy conditions.

Farmer James Lacey explained how there is around £200,000 worth of potatoes that he and his team simply can’t harvest and that they are struggling to hold on to those already pulled out, as even such sturdy vegetables as potatoes just “don’t like this kind of weather and aren’t storing very well”.

This is just the story of one farmer’s plot of land too; unfortunately, current figures project that roughly 20% of this autumn’s potato crop has been flooded and will likely be unsalvageable, with the majority of rotting spuds only fit for animal feed.

Although the figures are still unclear, it is estimated that the latest potato crop is tipped for a record low of 4.1 million tonnes — for context, on average and in their various forms, Brits eat around 250m potatoes at Christmas every year.

vegetable shortage UK christmas 2023 — Credit: ITV News

worst autumn harvest in years 2023 — Credit: ITV News

Sadly, it doesn’t stop there either as due to the almost unprecedented rainfall over the last few months and back-to-back storms, combined with the increasingly frosty conditions now creeping across the UK, the likes of broccoli, carrots, parsnips and more are all under threat.

As a result, retailers are already being forced to supplement their supplies from cold storage which, obviously, isn’t endless.

With shortages of different vegetables increasing week upon week and as well as the impact it is having in restaurants already, the knock-on effect it may have on supermarkets with people raiding the freezers to get frozen roasties at the ready just in case could be massive.

The recent miserable weather isn’t getting any better either as the North West is one of many regions that has been hit by a cold snap this week, with the Met Office and UKHSA issuing an amber health alert.