Farmers are taking extra security measures to protect their pumpkin supplies in the run up to Halloween, after the shortage caused by a wet summer has made them more attractive to thieves.
One supplier taking no chances this year is Barfoots of Botley, whose West Sussex operation has about 80 acres devoted to pumpkins. The company said it has had hundreds stolen over the past few weeks.
Managing director Graham Young said they were using agricultural staff as gamekeepers to patrol the fields, especially at night, on the lookout for crop poachers.
“We first noticed the pumpkin thefts a few weeks ago when 10 to 20 were stolen overnight. But the thefts have become more frequent, which has prompted us to keep guards,” he said.
He added the size of the problem had become apparent last year -- a bumper season for pumpkins -- when they'd come across a van parked in a field and seen people loading it with produce.
“We switched off our headlights and watched,” he said. “We didn't take any action, as this field had just been cleared, and only pumpkins with red spot remained. We had a good chuckle about it, because we knew that within 24 hours the back of the heated van would be full of a mushy soup.
“But that incident made us think that if we were going to lose a few hundred a night in this way, especially from roadside sites, then the problem was getting out of order and we must do something about it.”
Young said pumpkin theft would increase in years to come, with a black market developing in the same way it had for Christmas trees.
“I can see this becoming a bigger problem every year from now on, as Halloween becomes an even more special event,” he said. “An opportunity for a black market definitely exists. After all, they retail for about £3, so if thieves steal 40 a night they have over £100 in minutes. As we grow about 250,000 pumpkins, this is a big problem for us.”
He blamed this year's harvest downfall on the rainfall in August,- with 152mm falling this year against 17mm last year, and the lack of light and strong winds did not help either.
A spokesman for Tesco said they were urging suppliers to address the issue: “All of a sudden pumpkins have become a very valuable commodity because the poor harvest has reduced this year's yield by 25 per cent.
“To make matters worse, they are becoming more popular. Our sales last year were up 27 per cent on the year before, and this year we're expecting another increase.
“We don't want to disappoint our customers, so we've asked our main suppliers to ensure that the stocks come through by getting gamekeepers to keep all-night vigils.”
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