At the beginning of December, the ToLCNDV (Tomato Leaf Curl Virus New Delhi) virus caused a lot of damage in the Spanish open field and greenhouse courgette crops especially in the Amería area.
Over 50-60% of production was lost, causing prices to increase, as production from Sicily had not peaked yet.
Giovanni Veroni, purchase representative for AgriBologna, explains that "between agronomic and weather problems, i.e. storms and tornadoes, courgette production in Spain was really low. As they could not find the quantities they want, European countries like the UK, France and Germany - that traditionally buy Spanish produce - shifted to the Sicilian market. This, on top of the lowering of temperatures, led to prices rising up to €2.00 for courgettes and €2.20 for aubergines."
"Now, 10-12 days after demand peaked, it seems that the price and availability situation is going back to normal and the price of Spanish produce is also coming down," concludes Veroni.
Contacts
Consorzio AgriBologna
Via Paolo Canali 1
Bologna
Tel.: (+39) 051 9941200
Fax: (+39) 051 9941220
Email: info@agribologna.it
Web: www.agribologna.it