STORMS have caused havoc with our Christmas dinner, experts have warned. 

The UK's recent potato crop is expected to hit a record low of 4.1million tonnes, with retailers forced to supplement supplies from cold storage they say. And the harvests of brocoli and cauliflower have been badly affected as well. 

Storms Agnes, Babet and Ciaran mean that farms have struggled to produce enough vegetables for Christmas. 

Editor of Fresh Produce Journal, Fred Searle, said: “We’re set for the lowest potato crop recorded in recent times at just 4.1 million tonnes. The British potato harvest has been hit hard by heavy rain and flooding in recent weeks, causing delayed lifting and large crop losses. This was preceded by a cold, wet spring and a cool summer with low light levels.

"With the potatoes that are in store there’s likely to be enough supply to meet demand for the time being, but that might not be the case in the months ahead.”

T.H. Clements, one of the country's largest suppliers of brussels sprouts, warned that sprouts will be smaller than average this year. 

Martin Tate, Lincolnshire grower who manages 18,000 acres in the country, added: "There won't be enough broccoli to supply the Christmas dinner demand. There is a nationwide shortage of broccoli, in fact, there's a European wide shortage. The whole of northern Europe, including Germany, has been experiencing the same wet conditions as us, as have Poland and Holland. Imports from Spain have been hit by an exceptionally dry summer. 

"Cauliflower is still a problem, and you can expect to see empty trays over the next few weeks but may return to normal before Christmas. After some initial issues brussels sprouts supplies look like they will be okay."

These warnings are followed by a report released by the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) on the impact of extreme weather on crops. 

It finds British households are likely to pay an extra £605 for food in 2022 and 2023 due to climate change impacts and historically high oil, gas and fertiliser prices, adding the cost of 10 weekly family shops to bills as floods and drought hit food production.

Around £17 billion has been added to the nation’s food bill by these two factors alone the study finds, with the Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey recently warning of ongoing climate risks for food price inflation.