Pumpkin shortage threatens Halloween supply
Farmers say there will be a shortage of pumpkins this Halloween as the bad summer weather means the crop is down by 20 per cent and many are still green.
Pumkins will not be orange in time for halloween because of the bad weather, producers has warned Photo: ALAMY
12:19PM BST 26 Sep 2012
Farmers say there will be a shortage of pumkins this Halloween as the bad
summer weather means the crop is down by 20 per cent and many are still
green.
Pumpkin growers in Lincolnshire are now racing against time to get the harvest
finished before the frost claims more of their crop.
At David Bowman Pumpkins, near Spalding, which is Europe's largest producer of
the vegetable, around 40 per cent are still green because of the cold
weather.
"It's terrible, pumpkins don't like the wet and cold and that's what
we've had all summer," said Mr Bowman, whose farm normally produces two
million a year, around three quarters of the British crop.
"The harvest is 10 days behind schedule and it looks like there will be a
shortage of pumpkins for Halloween this year.
"The pumpkins should be orange by now but around 40 per cent are still
green because it has been so cold."
Most pumpkins sold in the UK are used for lantern carving, as part of Halloween celebrations leading up to October 31.
But this year's poor crop, with many smaller and yellower than normal, means prices are likely to rise and shops could sell our early.
Mr Bowman, 64, who has been harvesting pumpkins for 40 years, added: "The harvest normally starts on September 1 but we didn't get started until the 10th.
"Some of the pumpkins are reasonably coloured where they've been sheltered from the cold wind, but most are yellow.
"They'll go into the store to ripen and hopefully they should turn orange by Halloween."
Mr Bowman, who supplies all the major supermarkets, grows his pumpkins on 500 acres.
The farm workers process around 100,000 pumpkins a day during the harvest.
Gareth Jones, a spokesman for FARMA (National Farmers' Retail and Markets Association) said: "The weather has been bad and there won't be as many pumpkins around as usual so people will need to get to festivals early to buy their pumpkins this year.
"There is a chance that prices may be higher this year if the supply is down."
Most pumpkins sold in the UK are used for lantern carving, as part of Halloween celebrations leading up to October 31.
But this year's poor crop, with many smaller and yellower than normal, means prices are likely to rise and shops could sell our early.
Mr Bowman, 64, who has been harvesting pumpkins for 40 years, added: "The harvest normally starts on September 1 but we didn't get started until the 10th.
"Some of the pumpkins are reasonably coloured where they've been sheltered from the cold wind, but most are yellow.
"They'll go into the store to ripen and hopefully they should turn orange by Halloween."
Mr Bowman, who supplies all the major supermarkets, grows his pumpkins on 500 acres.
The farm workers process around 100,000 pumpkins a day during the harvest.
Gareth Jones, a spokesman for FARMA (National Farmers' Retail and Markets Association) said: "The weather has been bad and there won't be as many pumpkins around as usual so people will need to get to festivals early to buy their pumpkins this year.
"There is a chance that prices may be higher this year if the supply is down."
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