"Israel pushing down price of Almeria's peppers in Europe"

According to José Antonio, Israel's presence is gradually increasing in the market, marketed at lower prices than Almeria's peppers.

"A few years ago, Israeli peppers were always more expensive than the Spanish, but the situation changed when producers started marketing their products on their own, instead of under a unique consortium," he explains. "This makes it difficult to achieve high prices and they end up selling cheaper, which ultimately hurts the Spanish produce," he adds.

Ejidomar will finish its pepper campaign in Almería in late March. Its produce is shipped primarily to Germany, but also to Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the Scandinavian countries, as well as Canada and the United States by air freight.

"We have been shipping bell peppers to the United States and Canada for over twenty years; we were actually the first company in the sector that managed to export to these destinations. However, profit margins are getting smaller in these markets because Mexico is gradually shipping larger volumes as its greenhouse acreage continues to grow and its technology improves, taking also advantage of its geographical proximity, which ensures simpler logistics.

At present, pepper plantations in Almeria are in a cycle with lower bell pepper production volumes, so prices are significantly higher than those of red peppers, of which large volumes are currently available. Right now, green bell pepper prices stand at 1.20 €/kg at auction, while the yellow reach 1.05 €/kg and the red about 85 cents/kg.