Farmer fears onion shortage unless retailers adapt

A farmer said he feared there would be shortages of onions this Christmas if supermarkets did not adjust their requirements, with the severe heat and drought creating smaller vegetables.

Andrew Long, who farms in Suffolk, has been forced to harvest his onions three weeks earlier than usual due to the weather conditions.

He said onions were required to be about 60-80mm (2.4-3.1in) in diameter for the supermarkets, but much of his crop has only measured 40-60mm (1.6-2.4in).

"If this [weather] is going to continue, I think our food security is going to be a very, very important issue," Long said. The British Retail Consortium said retailers were "experienced in managing supply disruptions".

Long, who farms in Fornham St Martin near Bury St Edmunds, estimated his yield was about 40% down, due to the crops getting "really stressed".

"Onions and potatoes are the same, they just do not like that constant heat," he said.

"[This] means for the customer, the larger onions are going to be more expensive and rarer to find.

"The smaller size onions, you might have to peel three or four onions to get one [large] onion."

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Elsewhere in the county, William Wrinch is a farmer from Ewarton, on the Shotley Peninsula. His family has been farming in the area since the 1840s.

This will be their 50th year of harvesting potatoes, and while Wrinch said it was not the worst year he had seen, the quality of the crop had varied.

"We're in a position that we had a very good year last year, so we've got a high benchmark to reach," he told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"This year we have a lot of variability.

"Yields are higher than I thought they were going to be two or three weeks ago, but the quality is going to be variable... supermarkets are going to have to move the goalposts."

Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said climate change continued to "create challenges for retailers and their suppliers".

"Extreme weather, including drought, can affect crop yields and place upward pressure on prices," he said.

"Retailers are experienced in managing supply disruptions and will take all necessary steps to minimise any impact on customers, including sourcing from alternative suppliers and expanding ranges of odd-sized produce."

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