Potato shortage in Ireland offered at good odds by Irish bookmakers Paddy Power. iStock

Potato shortage in Ireland offered at good odds by Irish bookmakers Paddy Power.

With the ongoing heatwave in Ireland, the lack of rain could potentially have an effect on Irish food production, in particular on the potato supply, with warnings that the price of fruit and vegetables could begin to rise as early as next week.

Amid warnings from the likes of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) and after the bread crisis of The Beast from the East, Irish bookmakers Paddy Power are now placing good odds on a potato shortage to hit Ireland soon.

“We’ve already witnessed near hysteria when there was a run on sliced pans during ‘the big snow of 2018’ just a few short months ago. Now another Irish staple seems under threat as the boiling weather chips away at provisions,” a spokesperson for Paddy Power said.

Read  more: Reasons potatoes are a true superfood

It’s currently as short as 7/1 that a national potato shortage will be confirmed during the month of July 2018. And it’s even more likely that a leading supermarket chain in Ireland will confirm their supplies are limited (4/1).

“Early growers have suffered because of the cold weather. And once it gets 24C to 25C, they stop growing,” Eddie Doyle, of the potato committee of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), told the Irish Independent.

“Yield will be quite light this year. I’d be fairly sure they’ll go up in price.”

“We would have had dry summers, Mays, and Junes before, but there would have been some rain,” added Dublin farmer David Rodgers.

“I’ll be lucky this year if it’s six or seven tonnes.”

Read more: There are ninety different words describing potatoes in Irish

England is also experiencing a shortage and is, unfortunately, not getting much sympathy from the Irish:

A mash-up of Paddy Power potato odds:

7/1 - A national potato shortage to be confirmed during July - 7/1

16/1 - A leading supermarket chain to announce they will ration potato supplies to customers in July

4/1 - A leading supermarket chain to confirm their potato supplies are limited in July

16/1 - Tayto to cease production due to a potato shortage at its factory in Tayto Park during 2018

50/1 - Tayto to drop out of the Top 20 Irish Supermarket products in 2018  

33/1 - Dunnes Stores to announce they are out of Tayto stock in 2018

20/1 - Gary Lineker to be dropped as a brand ambassador by Walkers in 2018

16/1 - Sir Walter Raleigh to be named checked in Dail Eireann anytime in 2018

H/T: Paddy Power