“We have had three very complicated weeks for large artichokes,” explains Pierre Gélébart, product manager at Prince de Bretagne.The market was not balanced due to the very high production and a consumption that failed to live up to expectations. “In fact, it is a consequence of last year’s weather conditions. Because of the drought, last summer's campaign started early. This had repercussions on the 2023 spring harvest, which arrived on the market at the same time as the Roussillon harvest that was itself delayed due to the bad weather. The two basins were therefore in direct competition, with large volumes on the market and a sluggish consumption.”
Photo credit: L'Oeil de Paco
Luckily, this complicated start now seems to be made up for. “Since last week, the situation has improved considerably, thanks to a drop in production volumes - normal for the mid-July/mid-August period due to the crop cycle. This dip in production has rebalanced the market, prices have risen and, above all, we are now able to sell our entire production. There is nothing worse for a grower than having unsold artichokes, as one hectare of artichokes corresponds to 250/300 hours of work.”
This complicated period only concerned large artichokes. Despite a slightly tricky start, the small purple artichoke campaign has been going rather well.
For more information:
Pierre Gelebart
Prince de Bretagne
Phone: +33 2 98 69 38 71
Mobile: +33 6 62 92 64 74
pierre.gelebart@princedebretagne.com
www.princedebretagne.com/fr