Plantlets underwent lot of stress, which was luckily alleviated by the non-woven fabric placed on the crops. Those who didn't manage to plant in late February have had to wait for mid-March due to the snow and rain.
Plants have been left in warehouses or greenhouses for weeks waiting for the sun to come out. Of course all this will lead to delays, lower quantities and a gap in supplies in April.
In the days after it snowed, there was a drop in volumes available as harvesting operations could not be carried out. As for prices, quotations did not increase despite the damage caused by the bad weather and were actually lower than March 2017.
Garlic prices dropped (both bunches and braids). The produce currently in refrigerated units is taken to the market depending on demand, but hasn't been very popular so far. The same goes for chard, as prices were low despite the limited quantities available.
Cabbages
Until the third week of March, quotations for leafed carrots were stable, while they increased for those without leaves as demand was higher. Afterwards, due to the low volumes available and lively demand, quotations of the former reached peaks of €1.70/kg.
Demand was good for cauliflowers and cabbages, so quotations increased. A drop in commercialised volumes was registered, though. As supply increased towards the end of the month, quotations decreased.
Lettuce didn't do so well as both quotation and volumes dropped. Demand was slow due to the constant presence of lettuce in other markets, often sold at prices below-cost. The price of Cappuccia, Roman and Brazilian lettuce exceeded those of March 2017 only towards the end of the month.
The negative period for leeks and parsley continues despite the low volumes available and good quality.
Radicchio prices were 30-50% lower than the previous year and there were lower quantities available.
As for celery, demand was only interested in low prices, even when it came to the white variety.