There is renewed optimism for the hospitality sector as indoor dining can re-commence for fully vaccinated individuals. Retail demand remains positive, despite the usual lull at this time of the year.
Demand for Queens is very strong and excellent quality continues to be reported. A few growers in the south east have finished digging and growers along the east coast are starting to harvest. More volumes will come onto the supermarket shelves in the coming weeks. Prices are reported at around €875/tonne in bags. Stocks of packing quality maincrop are very low and should command a premium.
In the UK, crops are currently looking good, but some regions are particularly dry, causing some concern for the main-crop. In Scotland, the area entered for seed this year at 10,430 ha’s is just under the 10,439 ha’s entered last year. Yields of early processing crops in both Belgium and Germany are reported to be running 20 to 30% lower than the multiyear average and some crops are already senescing.
