Dijon mustard stocks dip as heatwave bites into seed production
Fans of mustard may be disappointed at their next grocery shop as supermarkets have run out of stock in some parts of the country.
Both Tesco and Asda have run out of Unilever’s Maille dijon mustard at some of their stores, weeks after the condiment started disappearing from supermarkets and restaurants in France.
French mustard producers were badly hit after a North American heatwave last year drastically cut supplies of Canadian mustard seeds. Producers have been unable to replenish stocks by turning to their eastern European neighbours because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Shipping backlogs have compounded the problem.
Meanwhile, France’s own mustard seed harvests have disappointed for three years in a row because of wet weather.
The supply problems have forced some French retailers to limit sales of pots to one per person. Intermarché affixed signs to shelves, blaming “a drought in Canada” and Ukraine’s conflict with Russia. France is the world’s largest consumer of mustard, with each person getting through an average of 2.2 pounds a year of the condiment.
Canada exported 157 tonnes of mustard seed to France in 2021, down 80 per cent in a year. The Canadian Agriculture Ministry attributed this to “extremely dry conditions” in the Prairies, a region in Western Canada where mustard seeds are primarily grown.
Scarcity has caused seed prices to rocket and shoppers have been warned that prices could rise further as a result. Brown mustard seeds, used in dijon-style mustard, are now four times more expensive than they were last year.
While stocks have run dry in some shops in Britain, both supermarkets insisted that they had adequate supply across the country. Supplies of Colman’s Original English mustard, which is also owned by Unilever, appear to be holding up better.
