Iceberg lettuce consumption has been high since the export campaign kicked off for Spain's major producers, although prices have remained below production costs, except for a few specific moments in early February, when cold temperatures slowed down the production, causing drops of over 30% in the volumes available at the European markets for over three weeks, but also marketing problems due to the lack of commercial calibres.
Although prices recovered for a while, the issues with calibres led to lettuce being once again in a worrying situation.
"We are again obtaining truly disastrous lettuce prices," states Javier Soto, president of Proexport's Iceberg Lettuce Section. After the cold period in early February, temperatures rose abruptly and production went back to normal levels, although calibres remained between 12 and 13," he explains.
Javier says that "despite the still strong demand for lettuce, the lack of commercial calibres is being used by large retailers to push prices down, especially in countries like Germany and Spain, where consumers demand larger lettuces."
According to the sector representative, the lettuce industry has a very fragmented structure that limits its ability to negotiate with the distributors. What this means is that, despite the shortages, the prices paid are those of a situation of oversupply, below production costs. "I believe the industry would gain competitiveness if producers created larger commercial structures to ensure a greater concentration of supply," affirms Javier Soto.
Lettuce calibres have now recovered, and in the next two weeks production is expected to drop again by between 30 and 40%, "so if demand remains stable, it will be greater than supply, and this should cause prices to rebound," he points out.
Over the past week, prices have ranged between € 2.20 and € 3.40 per box.