Good news, kids: Sprouts will be scarce this Christmas

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Summer floods left thousands of acres of crops rotting in the fields, creating shortages which are now pushing up prices to shoppers.

A 1.2 kilo pack of Tesco's own label frozen peas has leapt from £1.08 to £1.79 in recent weeks - an increase of 65 per cent.

An estimated 40 per cent of the national pea crop was lost during the summer floods, while other vegetable yields have also suffered.

Sprouts and cabbages are seeing significant price rises because of reduced supply.

Sprout production is down by 15-20 per cent, according to the food retail industry magazine, The Grocer, raising the possibility of a shortage as Christmas approaches.

In three of the last four years the UK pea crop has been reduced by extreme weather patterns, either drought or flood, which seem to be linked to climate change.

Higher vegetable prices are not the only thing pushing up the cost of the weekly shopping.

Milk and other dairy products are also more expensive, and likely to become dearer still.