Shortages of vegetables, grains and milk caused by Britain’s devastating floods will last until next spring, according to farming experts.

With many fields under water, unharvested crops have been ruined and farmers are unable to do any new planting. Some growers estimate that they have lost at least two-thirds of their summer crop, with similar shortages across Europe supermarket prices are certain to rise.

Peter Davis, the managing director of Davis Worldwide, a fresh fruit and vegetable importer and exporter, said: “I don’t want to exaggerate the problem we have got, but in 30 years I have never seen a situation like this.”

Supplies of potatoes, broccoli, courgette, cauliflower, sweetcorn, parsnips and peas have all been affected by the torrential downpours and flash flooding, as have rapeseed crops. Crop consultants say that more than 70 per cent of barley and oilseed rape is ready to harvest but farmers are unable to get into the waterlogged fields.

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• Pictures: 2007 floods

• Video: UK under water

Background

• Water company ‘cleans up’ as customers clear up

• How to clean up after your home has flooded

• A disaster with mankind's footprints stamped on it

Related Internet Links

• The Times forecast

• Government flood warnings

Related Links

• Town-by-town flood predictions on the way

• Dairy farmers in race for water

Sprout-growers have also warned of a severe shortage at Christmas, as farmers have been unable to plant vegetable crops in the sodden conditions.

According to Mr Davis, the problem of dwindling vegetable supplies has been exacerbated by soaring temperatures in southern Europe. “If you draw a line across Europe round about the Spanish-French frontier, everything north of that line is literally under water and everything south of that line has literally been cooked,” he said.

“One of the first things we do when we can’t use our own home-grown products is to source them from abroad. The trouble is that we can’t source abroad because it’s either too hot and the products have been cooked or it’s too wet and the product is sitting in water.

“As for whether there will be empty shelves, it is getting that way. A lot of supermarkets are having to de-list products because they simply can’t get them. Prices are going up most definitely. If you ask me, hand on heart, when we will be back to normal, I would say it won’t be before April next year.”

The dairy industry is also worried. Cows have spent much of the summer indoors and farmers have been forced to use scarce silage stocks. This means that feed costs are expected to rise sharply as grain prices increase.

Tim Brigstocke, a former chairman of the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers, said: “It’s a complete and utter disaster. Milk production is dropping like a stone and that is because of the weather. Milk is going to become more of a scarce commodity over the next few months.”

The National Farmers’ Union said: “The extent will really be known when water is drained off the fields and farmers can see what can be salvaged and what can’t. The longer the rain goes on, the worse the problem will be.

“There will be knock-on effects into the winter as well.”

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