Some supermarkets are rationing vegetables after bad weather hit crops across Europe.

Lettuce, broccoli, butternut squash, aubergines and courgettes have been particularly affected by the shortage.

Frustrated customers have shared photographs of empty supermarket shelves on Twitter.

Meanwhile, some online shoppers have been told iceberg, romaine and sweet gem varieties of lettuce are completely out of stock.

Why might we have to go without our greens?

Some Tesco and Morrisons branches are limiting sales of iceberg lettuces to three per customer because of "continued weather problems in Spain".


The vast majority of the UK's vegetables come from the city of Murcia in southeastern Spain during the winter months.

Image: Tesco branches are taking precautions to protect supplies. Pic: @chrisfruitnet

But severe flooding and freezing conditions have damaged farms across the region - causing millions of euros worth of damage and leaving the ground too soaked to grow new crops.

Price rises are possible if the weather does not improve soon, and some healthy eaters have already complained that the cost of an iceberg lettuce has nearly tripled in recent weeks.

Some supermarket chains have begun to buy in lettuces from US farms more than 5,300 miles away to address the shortage.

Image: A car flipped over next to a field of broccoli in Murcia, Spain, two weeks ago

In a statement, a spokesperson for Sainsbury's said: "Severe weather has affected crops, but we are working with our suppliers to maintain supply for our customers."

A Morrisons spokesman said: "Our availability of broccoli and iceberg lettuce is good. However, other businesses are experiencing shortages and we have seen some bulk buying in our stores.

"We have therefore had a cap on sales of broccoli and iceberg lettuce to ensure we maintain good supplies for our regular customers. As you can imagine, most customers don't buy more than three broccoli at a time."

Lidl said: "We're not experiencing any stock issues and as such, aren't limiting our customers to the quantity of vegetables they wish to purchase."