The German carrot industry is currently in the process of switching from alternative stock to imported carrots. Similar to previous years, the first lots from Spain hit the German market in week 16. In the meantime, the last stock has mostly been marketed and carrots from Spain, Portugal, Italy and Israel are arriving as a priority, a wholesaler said.
Due to the cold snap and night frost, the first imported carrots from Spain were somewhat smaller than desired. However, this hurdle has been taken and the goods do meet the quality criteria of German food retailers. "The prices are about above the level of the last years and are mostly firm and stable," one trader reported.
Good demand
The German storage season will be remembered as rather difficult due to quality problems during storage. Nevertheless, demand in the last phase of the domestic campaign was at a good level for the season. The cold and cloudy weather of recent weeks also played into carrot marketing's favor. "The carrot is still more of a winter product, and when the weather is sunny and spring-like, other products tend to come into the consumer's focus."
Supply meets demand
During the short import marketing window, various sources play a role in the market. Spain continues to dominate, followed by Portugal and Italy. Import volumes from Israel appear to be reducing somewhat for several reasons. Depending on the supply situation in Spain, France also enters the market for a short time from the second half of May onwards, because it is not uncommon for it to already be too warm in the Spanish growing regions at this time of year. "At present, however, Spanish goods are still available to cover demand with a relatively balanced market situation."
Start of the new carrot harvest
It is currently difficult to estimate when the starting signal for the new, domestic harvest will be given. Traditionally, the harvest starts in the Palatinate region with the first clearings by early-mid June, after which it successively moves up to the western and northern German growing regions. "Despite appropriate fleece and film coverage, we have to expect a slight delay due to the rather cool weather."