Some UK supermarkets won’t even sell turnips after falling out of favor with the public

Shoppers hoping to turn to turnips amid nationwide vegetable shortages might be frustrated — as many supermarkets aren’t selling them.

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey has urged the public to “appreciate” British “specialties” like the turnip after admitting fruit and vegetable shortages could last a month.

But it turns out the turnip has fallen out of favor with the public as some of the country’s biggest supermarkets reveal they’re no longer selling them, encouraging shoppers to buy turnips instead.

dr Coffey sparked controversy with her suggestion that shoppers could make the most of “British specialities” like turnips, while supermarkets limit sales of imported fruit and veg following shortages.

When growers said salad greens like tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce could still be in short supply through June – instead of two to four weeks as suggested by Dr. Coffey claims – Co-op and Tesco said they would stop selling beets.

It turns out the turnip has fallen out of favor with the public, with some of the country’s biggest supermarkets announcing they are no longer selling it

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey has urged the public to “appreciate” British “specialties” like the turnip after admitting fruit and vegetable shortages could last a month

Tesco called it an “old vegetable” and said it was offering customers Sweden instead.

Asda listed turnips as unavailable on its website, but Waitrose and Sainsbury’s both offered the vegetable online. Morrisons said it sells beets in bulk at its larger stores and has had no supply issues.

Jack Ward, chief executive of the British Growers’ Association, said beets were a “relatively insignificant crop”, much of which went to processors and animal feed. Mr Ward contradicted Dr. Coffey’s prediction that current shortages would last a maximum of two to four weeks, saying it would likely take much longer for some products.

Government and industry have blamed cold and frosty weather in Spain and North Africa for putting pressure on imports, while UK growers said high energy prices meant they planted less in greenhouses during the winter.

Mr Ward said: “I think we will see shortages across the board for vegetables including carrots and leeks by early June.

“With cucumbers, people just haven’t planted them because they’re waiting for better weather so they don’t incur massive energy costs.”

He added: “It’s relatively easy to explain. What we are seeing is the result of a very, very dry, hot summer.

“Certain crops like carrots would have grown, but because of the dry spell we didn’t have the volumes we expected.

“They’d be in the ground now and that’s going to hurt the carrot supply through June, so we’re probably going to see the carrots thin and there’s a problem with leeks for exactly the same reason.”

Asda listed turnips as unavailable on its website, but Waitrose and Sainsbury’s both offered the vegetable online

A sign limiting customers to three items at a time can be seen next to empty boxes in the tomato and pepper section of a Tesco

A major group of vegetable growers, the Lea Valley Growers’ Association, said some of Britain’s big growers are delaying planting crops because of high energy costs.

The group of 80 represents the UK’s salad powerhouse – an area comprising Greater London, Hertfordshire and Essex that produces around three quarters of Britain’s cucumbers and peppers and many aubergines and tomatoes.

Its secretary, Lee Stiles, said sky-high energy costs and supermarkets offering growers low prices meant the vegetable was becoming increasingly uneconomical to grow and supplies would run out for several months.

Beets aren’t the only root vegetable being championed by senior conservatives amid the shortages.

A Tory MP suggested the public eat UK-grown parsnips and leeks – but leek growers have also warned they are in short supply.

Sir Robert Goodwill, chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, told BBC Radio 4: “We no longer have the seasonality that we used to have. And when people are on a budget, you know that seasonal homegrown produce is very inexpensive.

“Strawberries aren’t available grown in the UK at this time of year, but when they’re in season you know they taste a lot better. There are many good products – there are good parsnips from Britain, there are leeks.”

Nit Tim Casey, Chair of the Leek Growers Association, said: “Leek growers are facing their toughest season ever due to challenging weather conditions.

“Our members are seeing returns dropping by between 15 and 30 percent.

“We expect the supply of domestic leeks to be exhausted by April as no UK leeks will be available in stores in May and June and consumers will be reliant on imported crops.”