The pepper campaign has been very difficult for producers and exporters in Murcia. It all started with the overlap with Almeria, which is increasingly extending its campaign. Also, Murcia's greater production has also clashed against the Dutch production, which has grown by 8% this year.
Very important has been the fact that Murcia's pepper supply has increased by about 20% in June compared to the volumes that had been scheduled for that month. This is mostly due to the rise in temperatures, which have accelerated the harvesting process.
"In June, we normally receive 800,000 kilos a day in the warehouse, but this time we have received around 150,000 kilos a day more than expected," explains Ángel García Izquierdo, manager of the Murcia-based company Soltir. "At the same time, the Netherlands has delivered a much greater production to the market at low prices, which has pushed our prices down even further," he adds.
According to the producer, sales are currently still underway, although the prices are not reaching what would be considered a profitable average, since first class GG-sized bell peppers are not managing to exceed 0.80 Euro per kilo at origin; between 4 and 5 Euro for the box, depending on formats. The second class ones cost around 0.60 Euro per kilo. "A reasonable average for the first class peppers should be above 1 Euro per kilo."
It is worth noting that the situation in the domestic market is good. The sale of long Lamuyo peppers is expected to help salvage the pepper campaign. The fact is that over the last 3 or 4 years, the share of the Lamuyo pepper production in Murcia has dropped from about 70% to 45% in favour of bell peppers for export. This coincides, according to Ángel García Izquierdo, with the improvement of the economic situation in Spain, which has resulted in more fluid sales, with an increase in consumption.
"A few years ago, bell peppers reached much better prices, whereas now this situation has been reversed. This year, the prices paid oscillate between 1.20 and 1.30 Euro per kilo. We believe that the supply of Lamuyo peppers will either remain stable or increase in the next campaign," concludes the manager of Soltir.
Murcia's pepper campaign will finish in the middle of August, coinciding with the arrival of the first early peppers from Almeria.