The current drought is another difficulty producers have to face. Early harvests, disrupted production calendars, quality defects…all these factors can affect the producers, who still need higher remuneration to compensate for the increase in production costs.
“This year really is very special, marked with significant fluctuations in volumes and prices,” explains Eric Godard of Laparra, based at the Rungis market. “The harvests came too early for some vegetables and fruit like the melons in June. With the high temperatures, several plots were ready earlier than expected and at the same time. This resulted in unexpected large volumes, which could not be absorbed as planned. The market has therefore gone down, with prices below the normal prices for the season and producers are suffering from this situation.”
In addition to the consequences on production, the high temperatures have had a rather positive impact on consumption. “Luckily for us, the demand has been good in July and August. The heatwave has driven French consumers to want to consume fresh products. Compared to previous seasons, the sales are dynamic during those summer months. Only one week was complicated, at the end of July. Both the offer and the demand were very low, maybe because of the summer holidays or the end of the month. But consumption is back since the first days of August. The decrease in volumes has brought melon prices to a decent level and the tomato market is also recovering. Now, we are all wondering how the scarcity of products will affect the rest of the summer. We hope that the market will allow producers to compensate for their loss from a few weeks ago.”
For more information:
Eric Godard Durand
Agence Laparra
62A, rue de Montpellier
Bat C2
94622 Rungis
Phone: +331 46 86 40 30
Mobile: +336 09 22 20 84
eric.godard@laparra.fr
www.laparra.fr