Most of the winter vegetable harvest has been affected by the mild weather over the 2015-2016 season. An Agreste report from the Ministry of Agriculture explains that the weather affected both production and demand. However, the national cauliflower, leek, chicory and endive turnover was higher than the five year average. National turnover for lettuce and carrots was below the five year average but above that recorded in 2014-2015.
The cauliflower harvest in 2016 reached 237,000 tons, a 24% decrease compared to 2014-2015. 80% of production is in Brittany and suffered from the mild winter. The peak in production occurred in December, normally it isn’t until the spring. Consequently, the offer and demand were not balanced and brought prices down in December. Prices then soared when the temperature was cooler, up 179% in April 2016 compared to April 2015.
Chicory production has lost 21% in acreage compared to the five year average, but production has only decreased by 12% thanks to improved yield. Production reached 174,000 tons in 2015-2016. Due to the mild weather, chicory was in competition with salad over the winter, leading prices to decrease.
A 14% increase in endive (curly/frisée endive and escarole) was recorded over the year, but remains 3% below the five year average. The decrease in price was largely due to the large offer and led to production being destroyed in fields.
The leek season was correct with production reaching 156,00 tons. Some regions recorded a strong increase in production, despite a slight decrease on a national scale. Production increased by 28% in the Rhone-Alpes and 35% in Brittany. Thanks to demand and less exports from Belgium, prices remained stable until the start of 2016 when they reached the low levels recorded last year.
Lettuce harvest recorded a 3% increase with 573 million heads, despite a 7% decrease in acreage. The mild winter affected production as it accelerated the vegetative cycle and led to early maturation with loss of yield before and after harvest. Low demand brought the prices down between October and March.
Carrot production in 2015-2016 reached 345,000 tons, up 2% over the year thanks to good yield between May and November 2015 and despite difficult harvest conditions following rain from January until April. Prices strongly increased at the start of the season, but then like other productions, demand decreased due to the mild winter weather.