Spain: Enormous shortages of Spanish vegetables

Due to bad weather, Spanish producers of vegetables are unable to meet demands. “The broccoli prices have skyrocketed,” a trader says. “The rain has destroyed large chunks of the crop, and now people are paying 12 Euro for 10x500 grams of broccoli. We expect huge problems this month, especially near the holidays.”

“Other vegetables are also in thin supply. Iceberg lettuce, aubergine and courgette aren’t available in sufficient quantities. Even pepper prices are expected to rise in the coming weeks. We’ve always had higher prices this time of year, but never this much. You’re not likely to encounter 5 Euro courgettes under normal circumstances.

“Last week aubergine were doing fine. They fetched around 6 Euro. Now that price is up to 11 Euro. These aren’t realistic anymore. Still, many buyers need to get them to meet long-term arrangements with retailers. This isn’t a healthy market. A production surplus is bad, but this is worse. We need to go back to the middle road.”