Asparagus in Vale of Evesham suffers in cold weather

Evesham is home to an annual asparagus festival

Cold weather has halted the growth of asparagus crops across Herefordshire and Worcestershire during its peak season.

Farmers in the region have reported crops are 10% to 15% of what they should be for this time of year, because of the unusually cold spring.

The Vale of Evesham, in Worcestershire is famous for its asparagus, and hosts an annual festival.

Farmers have said the weather could affect their yearly profits.

Tim Gilbert is an asparagus farmer in Tillington, Herefordshire.

He said: "The asparagus season ends around 20 June, and if this cold weather continues it's not going to be great for our profits.

"Asparagus is so reliant on temperature - a spear of asparagus can be saleable within one day of good weather."

'Very difficult situation'

John Chinn farms 850 acres of asparagus in Herefordshire, producing an average of 1,000 tons annually.

He said: "This is certainly the coldest spring I can remember, and we are only producing one third of what we expected for this time of year.

"This could have a very big effect on our profits."

Adrian Barlow, a spokesman for the Asparagus Growers Association (AGA) said growers were facing "a very difficult situation".

"Production has been reduced enormously, and the British industry finds it hard to keep up," he added.

One Tesco store in Evesham has resorted to selling foreign imports of asparagus to keep up with demand.

A spokesman said: "Temperatures this year are well below seasonal averages which has caused the British asparagus crop to produce significantly lower volumes."