British shoppers have been told that shortages of courgettes, aubergines and many salad ingredients, including lettuce and celery, will continue until spring –and that if they manage to find stock in their local supermarket they can expect to pay substantially higher prices.

The lion’s share of fresh vegetables we eat in winter comes from Murcia and Valencia in southern Spain, but the regions’ crops have been hit by flooding, frost and now snow. One supplier said lorries transporting vegetables already in short supply to the UK had been stuck in snow this week. Courgette prices have risen four-fold in the past two weeks.

“Southern Spain is the bread basket for Europe in the winter,” said Anthony Gardiner of G’s, a major supermarket fresh food supplier. “The whole of southern Europe has been hit hard and supply is absolutely challenging across a number of salad, fruit and vegetable lines. That’s likely to continue until the beginning of May when the first British crops are ready.”

Heavy rains in mid-December ruined half the Christmas lettuce harvest in Murcia, and the rains have been been followed by frost and snow, the first snowfall many residents can remember since the early 80s.

Spanish government figures show the price of a kilo of aubergines surging 132% between 8 January and 15 January. Courgette prices were up by 60% and some tomatoes by 45% over the same period. Spain’s largest farming association, Asaja, says the average price of a kilo of courgettes in Almería rose by €1.10 (95p) to hit €4.02 between the first and second week of January, with increases also recorded in aubergines, cucumbers, peppers and beans.

“Right now, it’s vegetables that are being most affected by the weather all along the eastern coast – Valencia, Murcia and Almería,” said Asaja spokeswoman Estrella Larrazabal, adding that producers growing cucumbers, peppers, artichokes, courgettes and green beans under plastic were also beginning to report damage.

Yes, we have no courgettes ... Tesco is out of stock too. Photograph: Jill Mead/The Guardian

Nick Matthews, a regional director at Total Produce, one of world’s largest fresh produce suppliers, said it was receiving only 20 to 30% of its usual volume of courgette and aubergines.

“It’s quite unprecedented and I’ve been in this business for 28 years,” he said. “You tend to get one or two products affected by the weather but we are are seeing shortages of courgettes, aubergines, all salad leaves, cucumbers, celery, peppers, tomatoes and broccoli.”

New year health kicks create a surge in demand for greens, and Matthews said dieters looking for an alternative to courgettes to whizz through their spiraliser could try carrots, celeriac or even moolis.

Suppliers are concerned that Spanish farmers may not be able recover the situation, because the bad weather has also damaged young plants and prevented fresh crops being sown. The disruption means gaps on supermarket shelves are expected to continue as importers scramble to tap supplies from further afield.

“The inclement weather in Greece, Italy and southern France means any contingency sourcing has also been wiped out,” said one senior industry source.

“That means people are now looking further afield to import produce, notably from America – which given the devaluation of pound versus the dollar and the increase in airfreight charges – means this will be very expensive for UK consumers and prices will rise on the shelf or there will be gaps on the shelf.”