Lettuce shortage: Cheap salad days may be over as prices rise

The cost of a pair of Little Gem lettuces increased by almost 54 per cent over the last week

Some retailers have implemented caps on how many lettuces customers can buy in one go (Liz west)

Not only are lettuces becoming an increasingly rare commodity in supermarkets, but prices for the leafy vegetables seem to be rising too.

According to the weekly report from the Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, a pair of Little Gem lettuces had an average market price of £0.86 in the week that ended on Friday, up from an average of £0.56 in the previous week – that’s an almost 54 per cent increase.

The cost of Butterhead Indoor lettuce, meanwhile, rose from £0.47 per head to £0.54.

The figures are national averages of the most usual prices charged by wholesalers at whole sale markets in Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool and New Spitalfields in east London.

Stocks of lettuce have reportedly been running low in UK super markets for some weeks as a result of poor weather conditions in Southern Europe.

Some retailers have implemented caps on how many lettuces customers can buy in one go. Earlier this month, poor harvests of courgettes and aubergines lead to a squeeze on supply in the UK too.