Heavy rain and flooding in Spain could leave gaps on British supermarket shelves in the coming weeks, with experts warning that supplies of salad vegetables and early potatoes could be affected.
Why it matters for the UK
Spain and Morocco are vital suppliers of fresh produce to the UK, particularly in winter and spring. According to analysis by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, the two countries together supply more than half of the tomatoes bought in Britain, and they are also the main source of cucumbers and peppers.
Could it happen again?
Tom Lancaster of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit said it was too early to say whether the floods would lead to shortages, but pointed out that it had happened before: in early 2023, extreme weather around the Mediterranean led to empty shelves in the UK, and several supermarkets limited the number of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers customers could buy.
Andrew Opie of the British Retail Consortium confirmed that the conditions had affected harvests of some crops.
Mallorca’s new potatoes
The concern extends to new potatoes, including those grown around Sa Pobla in the north of Mallorca. The fertile land of the Pla de Sa Pobla has supplied early potatoes to Britain for generations, and the UK is the main market for the crop. Thousands of tonnes are shipped each year, mainly between March and June.
If heavy rain damages the fields or delays planting and harvesting, the Mallorcan new potato season — and the British supply — could be affected.
What shoppers can expect
Experts stress that it is too early to predict specific shortages. But disruption to key suppliers in Spain and Morocco could mean less choice and higher prices for imported fresh produce in the UK in the weeks and months ahead.
For farmers in Spain, the floods are part of a wider pattern of increasingly extreme weather — from drought to torrential rain — that is making harvests harder to predict.
