The leek season began in France in September and will continue through until April. Mr Dumont, Director of JMF Partenariat says that production has suffered this year in Northern France, and Belgium in particular, due to climate conditions. JMF Partenariat has producers in Belgium and the North of France in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Weather was not favourable to leek production in the North of France, and especially Belgium, with a lot of rain and humidity over the summer. Mr Dumont explains that the mild weather over September and October means that the leeks continued to grow and they have reached large calibres, notably in Belgium.
Mr Dumont estimates that their leek production reaches about 1,000 to 1,500 tons this year, which is relatively stable but nevertheless a decrease compared to the volume produced last year. According to Agreste, national production reached 157,868 tons in 2013.
JMT Partenariat’s leeks are packaged in sachets of 2 and 3 kilos or 1 kilo bundles as well as sachets of leek whites.
Production acreage remains stable in France as leeks are a popular vegetable over the winter with, according to Kantar Worldpanel, 3kg consumed per household per year. However whilst leeks are very popular in cold weather, they are less favoured by consumers when the weather is mild. Leek prices in France are currently between €0.40-€0.50/kilo.
JMF Partenariat exports their leek production all over Europe and the Russian embargo has not affected their exports. Mr Dumont explains that leeks remain a stable product in France, the only threat, if any, would be the increasingly mild weather.