Rainfall in the avocado-growing regions of southern Andalusia has caused the flooding of plots of land located in the river basins. This has made harvesting very difficult and contributed to limiting the Spanish supply.
"It has been an unusually wet winter in Andalusia. The rain has prevented us from harvesting for many days," says José Antonio Alconchel, CEO of Grupo Alcoaxarquía.
© Alcoaxarquia
"It's currently very difficult to harvest in Cádiz, Huelva, and some areas of Portugal, which have been hit by severe rainfall in the last few days. That's why we are mainly sourcing from Malaga and Granada to be able to keep the supply going, although in limited quantities that are not enough to meet our clients' needs," he says.
© Alcoaxarquia
"We have redoubled our efforts in logistics, working 7 days a week to optimize the service we provide to our growers and avoid shortages. Our fleet of vehicles is collecting the harvest daily, regardless of the quantity or the state of the access roads," says Alconchel.
© Alcoaxarquia
The situation is very similar in Morocco, which is why not many of their avocados are reaching the market either, and prices have increased in recent weeks. "We started the season with low prices, but the delay in the harvest due to bad weather has led to their recovery. It is worth noting that, because of this situation, costs have risen by around 50%," says the CEO of Alcoaxarquía.
© Alcoaxarquia
"The situation is concerning because we are giving more room to other suppliers that compete in the same commercial window, such as Israel and Colombia, and this could make us less competitive in the future," he says.
© Alcoaxarquia
José Antonio predicts an earlier start of the Lamb Hass harvest in the Valencian Community this year due to the influence of rainfall. The company's own production of early Peruvian avocados will arrive in week 9.
For more information:
José Antonio Alconchel
Grupo Alcoaxarquia
Tel.: +34 607396517
Tel.: +34 951 33 39 34
[email protected]
www.alcoaxarquia.com
