Therese Coffey tells families to buy British veg to battle shortages

Let them eat turnips! Therese Coffey tells struggling families to buy British vegetables to battle rising costs and food shortages… even though there won’t be enough leeks in Wales for St David’s Day

• Therese Coffey suggested turnips can be used to alleviate vegetable shortages
• While a leek shortage threatens St David’s Day celebrations in Wales next week

Britons could consider eating turnips to ease the national vegetable shortage, the Environment Secretary suggested yesterday.

While farmers also warned of a shortage of leeks that is likely to hamper St David’s Day celebrations in Wales next week.

Therese Coffey told MPs the ‘temporary’ shortages were caused by ‘very unusual weather’ but were expected to end in another four weeks.

Supermarkets including Aldi Morrisons, Asda and Tesco have limited sales of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers to customers as frosty weather in Spain and Morocco has hit imports.

Ms Coffey said that consumers might want to turn to British ‘specialisms’ at this time of year to support domestic farmers.

She added: ‘I am led to believe by my officials… we anticipate the situation will last about another two to four weeks.

Supermarkets including Aldi Morrisons, Asda and Tesco have limited sales of vegetables, but Therese Coffey suggested people could use turnips as a substitute

Leek yields were down by as much as 30 per cent following the ‘most difficult growing season ever’

‘Even if we cannot control the weather it is important that we try and make sure the supply continues to not be frustrated in quite the way it has been due to these unusual weather incidents.’

Ms Coffey agreed with Tory MP Selaine Saxby who suggested eating seasonal vegetables could solve the issue. Ms Saxby said: ‘We should be eating more seasonally and supporting our own British farmers’, adding that if shoppers did so, ‘a lot of these problems would be avoided’.

Ms Coffey said: ‘It’s important to make sure that we cherish the specialisms that we have in this country. A lot of people would be eating turnips right now rather than thinking necessarily about… lettuce and tomatoes and similar, but I’m conscious that consumers want a year-round choice and that is what our supermarkets, food producers and growers around the world are trying to satisfy.’

Labour’s environment spokesman Jim McMahon questioned suggestions that food shortages were entirely caused by external forces, claiming ministers could have done more to support farmers with access to ‘the energy-intensive support scheme’, and increased quotas on labour to help with workforce shortages.

Conservative former minister Sir Desmond Swayne ridiculed suggestions that Brexit was responsible for the shortages. He told the Commons: ‘If only I had been told before I voted for Brexit that it was going to cause frosts in Morocco, I could have made a different decision, couldn’t I?’

Asked about the turnip suggestion, a No 10 spokesman said: ‘We don’t believe it’s for us to tell people what they should or shouldn’t buy.’ He added: ‘What the Secretary of State was doing was setting out the importance of celebrating the produce that we grow here in the UK.’

Ms Coffey drew further criticism for suggesting people struggling to afford food bills could consider working more hours.

She said: ‘One of the best ways to boost their incomes is not only to get into work if they’re not in work already, but potentially to work some more hours.’

Ms Coffey said: ‘It’s important to make sure that we cherish the specialisms that we have in this country. A lot of people would be eating turnips right now rather than thinking necessarily about… lettuce and tomatoes and similar

After the debate, Labour’s Rachael Maskell accused Ms Coffey of ‘shifting blame for food poverty on to people because they are on low wages and are poor’.

Budget supermarket food is seeing average annual price rises of an astonishing 21.5 per cent.

A Which? study found the poorest homes were the worst hit.

Some products have seen huge increases, such as tins of Growers Harvest sliced carrots up 63 per cent at Tesco to 33p, and packs of pork sausages at Asda up 58 per cent to £1.27. Budget Creamfields French brie also saw a 96.6 per cent rise at Tesco to £1.57.

Farmers are warning of an ‘extraordinary’ shortage of leeks which threatens St David’s Day celebrations in Wales next week.

A sign limiting customers to three items each is seen next to empty boxes in the tomato and peppers section of a Tesco

British producers of the much-loved seasonal vegetable, as well as onions, cauliflower and broccoli, have had to write off crops due to a lack of rain and deep frosts.

Some supermarkets have already run out of leeks, while the ones that do reach the shelves are often of poor quality and stunted – bad news for anyone planning to serve up traditional dishes such as a Welsh cawl or Wrexham bake on March 1.

Leek Growers Association chairman Tim Casey said yields were down by as much as 30 per cent following the ‘most difficult growing season ever’. He added: ‘We are predicting the supply of home-grown leeks will be exhausted by April, with no British leeks in the shops during May and June.’

Reputedly introduced to Wales by the Phoenicians when they were trading for tin in the British Isles, the leek has long been associated with the Welsh Saint David.

In 640AD, according to legend, the Briton King Cadwaladr and his men wore leeks in their hats to distinguish themselves in battle against invading Saxons. The leek has remained a national symbol ever since.

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