Europe

Shortage of lettuce, broccoli in Europe due to bad weather

Associated Press
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FILE - In this file photo dated Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009, people pass by a branch of British retailer supermarket Tesco, in London. Many of England's supermarkets, including Tesco stores, are rationing some fresh vegetables to customers as bad weather in Europe has caused problems with harvesting and transportation. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, FILE) (The Associated Press)

An information sign warning of vegetable shortages is displayed in a supermarket in London, Friday, Feb. 3, 2017. Europe is suffering a shortage of lettuce, broccoli and other vegetables, with shelves going bare in some supermarkets, due to bad weather. Stores in Britain were rationing Friday the number of lettuces shoppers can buy, with some removing iceberg, sweet gem and romaine varieties from their online offerings. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) (The Associated Press)

An empty shelf of courgettes, with a sign warning of vegetable shortages, is seen in a supermarket in London, Friday, Feb. 3, 2017. Europe is suffering a shortage of lettuce, broccoli and other vegetables, with shelves going bare in some supermarkets due to bad weather. Stores in Britain were rationing Friday the number of lettuces shoppers can buy, with some removing iceberg, sweet gem and romaine varieties from their online offerings. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) (The Associated Press)

Europe is suffering a shortage of lettuce, broccoli and other vegetables, with shelves going bare in some supermarkets, due to bad weather.

Stores in Britain were rationing Friday the number of lettuces shoppers can buy, with some removing iceberg, sweet gem and romaine varieties from their online offerings.

The shortage follows similar reductions in the supply of courgettes, broccoli and cabbage.

Shoppers shared images of bare shelves under the hashtags #lettucecrisis and #courgettecrisis.

Analyst Rob Gregory of PlanetRetail posted a photo on Twitter of empty boxes in a Tesco shop. The picture showed a sign reading "Due to continued weather problems in Spain, there is a shortage on Iceberg and other varied lettuce products. To protect the availability for all customers, we are limiting bulk purchases to three per person."