"Spain: "Huge demand for strawberries for processing"

Due to the meteorological instability in Huelva, there has been an almost constant shortage of strawberries in Spain during the current 2017/2018 campaign, which is already coming to an end.

"So far, we have harvested up to 200 grams less per plant in Huelva. And other European countries have also had problems, so there has been a shortage of the fruit during most of the campaign," explains José Antonio Martín, manager of Agromartín, a company under the umbrella of the Plus Berries group.

However, at this time, the situation is changing and there is a growing availability of strawberries in the market. "European producing countries, such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the Netherlands, are already harvesting good volumes, which is leaving fewer market gaps for Spanish exporters," says the producer. "Now we are selling to the domestic market, to Austria and a little to the United Kingdom, although in smaller volumes."

According to José Antonio Martín, the constant shortage has caused the prices paid by the processing industry to go up considerably. "The demand from the strawberry processing industry is very high at the moment because of the shortage of raw material, since producers have had to sell as much fruit as possible for fresh consumption due to the scarcity. The prices paid by processors have been between 10 and 15% higher than usual."

While it is still early to make an assessment, the producer believes that despite the higher prices "throughout the season, these will not compensate for the lack of kilos to make it a good campaign."