The UK's wettest April in living memory has reportedly created huge demand among consumers for typical winter-warming foods, according to the country's largest food retailer, Tesco.
'Instead of the salads, barbecue foods and picnic fare Brits were buying during last spring's mini heatwave shoppers are now stocking up on pies, soup, ready meals, root vegetables and desserts more suited to cold winter days,' a spokesperson for the company said.
Winter foods which normally do not sell well in what tend to be warmer months were selling above the seasonal average during early May, Tesco reported.
In week 18, sales of fresh soup were up 150 per cent, parsnips were 22 per cent higher, onions were up 31 per cent and swedes increase 37 per cent, all compared with the same week in 2011.
For the record, sales of wellington boots and umbrellas were 418 per cent and 646 per cent higher for the week respectively.
With more rain forecast for May, Tesco said it was planning to order extra supplies in order to cater for an expected further increase in demand.
The group's chilled foods customer manager Karen Poole said: 'This time last year we were out in our gardens enjoying salads, barbecue food and lighter summer fare but the miserable weather has had shoppers stocking up on the kind of food they would normally buy in mid-winter.'
She added: 'While the weather is grim there's nothing like a heart-warming plate of pie and mash or a bowl of apple crumble and custard to put a smile back on our faces. Shoppers have also been stocking up on vegetables for stews, with carrots, parsnips, onions and swedes the best sellers.'
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