Last week's rains, low temperatures, and frosts in Murcia have limited the supply and increased the prices of lettuce and leafy vegetables.
"We started the year with temperatures that were lower than in Finland", stated Gines Navarro, from the sales department of the Murcian company Agridemur, which specializes in fresh-cut lettuce. Temperatures are so low at night that the ground freezes, which makes it impossible to work with it, so we have very little time to collect. Last week it rained for nearly five days in a row, making harvesting tasks in the field impossible and causing orders to be delayed by several days. In addition, there were transport issues in Catalonia and central Spain due to snowfall. Some shipments have taken twice as long as usual, as our trucks were held up.”
3 weeks ago, there was a general surplus in the production of leafy vegetables. Now there is a shortage of supply. "There will be night frosts in the coming days and the day temperatures won't be excessively mild. That's why I forecast there will be a limited supply of lettuce and other leafy vegetables throughout January," Gines Navarro stated.
Sales of fresh-cut lettuce have fallen by 40% in the Horeca channel
Agridemur mainly produces fresh cut lettuce bags, mixed leafy vegetables, and other fresh-cut products that are mainly destined for the Horeca channel. “We've been having serious difficulties since the pandemic began. The closure of the hotel industry and service areas, as well as other public spaces provided by the foodservice channel, has harmed us a lot.”
“The hospitality and foodservice channels were kept open in a large part of Europe during the first wave of the pandemic, in last year's spring and summer. The situation changed completely in November, as the second wave was much worse than the first one. Since then, restaurants and hotels here, and in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and other places have closed. Our sales in this channel, the most important channel for us, have decreased by around 40%. This year we have been conservative when it comes to investing in new products. We have only supplied our clients what they need,” Gines Navarro stated.
For more information:
Ginés Navarro
Agridemur
+34 (0) 968 587587
g.navarro@agridemur.com
agridemur.com