Soleil Roy produces salad over the winter, from the end of October through to April. Jean-Louis Sylvestre says that this season was ''not good due to the mild winter'' which meant that there was an abundance of produce growing in the North of Europe and lack of demand for salads usually grown in the milder climates.
They export their salads all over Northern Europe, to countries such as Great Britain, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Germany, Scandinavia as well as countries in Eastern Europe such as Poland and the Czech Republic. Mr Sylvestre estimates that 70% of their salad production is exported whilst the rest is for national consumption.
Whilst Soleil Roy grow salads in the Languedoc-Roussillon, ''we are producing more and more in Spain, we started with 25% and now 75% of our salad production is in Spain''. Their salads are grown in both greenhouses and outdoor. Varieties include butterhead lettuce, batavia, red varieties, fine frisée and escarole.
Salad is an important product for the company, but Mr Sylvestre says that it is less and less profitable due to increasing production prices.
Soleil Roy International
Marché International St. Charles
129, Rue de Murcia
BP 5406 - 66034 Perpignan Cedex