No one in the business can miss the fact that the situation has become critical in Southern Europe and particularly, Spain and Italy.

There is a general shortage for most fresh products from these countries – a situation Sharrocks Fresh Produce are monitoring closely.

"The cold weather conditions and wet snap, followed by a greater demand in January, has caused turmoil to all customers & produce sectors across the UK and Europe," explains Wilf Whittle from the company.

"There is nowher near enough volume to meet demand despite the best efforts from our growers and a lot of crops have suffered the consequences of the cold spell. Temperatures are now ranging between 6/7 degrees during the day and freezing at night in mainland Spain. It is also raining in the main growing areas of Murcia, Alicante and Valencia provinces - areas wher they have recently had snow. It is proving difficult to assess the damage caused to the crops by the snow and to what extent."

Wilf said that there are people who have been in the industry for 40-50 years who have never seen anything like this before. "These days we have all the knowledge and technology at hand, but we just cant beat the weather."

He goes on the say that we just need to concentrate on the positives, "Our customer base has been very understanding. They have been willing to change their orders to what is readily available, our foodservice customers have asked their restaurants to change their menus to use the veg which we do have. This is a good thing, it will force people out of their comfort zone to try something new."

Wilf gives a short overview of the various products and how they are faring.