“Really terrible,” Esther Kamphuis form Valstar Espana says about the weather circumstances in Almería last weekend. “It had been predicted in the forecast, but the situation was inconceivable. Rivers which never stream, flooded. In a village nearby, people had to be rescued because the entire place was flooded. In El Ejido it even hailed. It can be normal to have heavy rain after the summer, in September or October, but this situation was truly unique, it rained an entire day and night.”
By now, the sun is shining over Almería again, but that does not mean an end to the problems. “This could result in quality problems in the coming two or three weeks, such as cracks in the tomatoes and other problems,” Esther expects. “Furthermore, we now have to deal with customers who do not understand right away that people cannot harvest here now, as if you should just let the boxes get wet…”
Prices for Spanish greenhouse vegetables are still at a high level. “We thought prices would drop sooner, but, surprisingly, they are still stable for now. But prices for aubergines, courgettes and cucumbers have to drop sometime. These high prices cannot last. Bell peppers are getting good colours again, so we expect prices for green ones will increase a bit, while those of red and yellow will drop.”
For more information:
Esther Kamphuis
Valstar Holland
2685 DB Poeldijk
T: +34 637 83 87 22
e.kamphuis@valstar.es