"Extreme shortage of broccoli; never experienced before"

The copious rain in Spain caused problems for the production and is very noticeable in the supply to the Netherlands and Belgium. "It is very clear that less vegetables arrive and the biggest shortage is with broccoli," Wim van Varenberg, manager pro tem of Coccinelle, explains. "It does not look very rosy for the coming weeks just before the holidays. The supply is minimal and prices are rising."

Wim van Varenberg, last year about this time, when sufficient

broccoli was still available.

Coccinelle is part of PrimaMundo and has specialized in the supply of vegetables. The most important buyers are supermarkets and wholesalers. "Vegetables are therefore our main product and at the moment we unfortunately cannot supply the demand," the trader mentions. We are not even receiving ten percent of our normal quantity. Also with the holidays we sell a lot more than otherwise. Then on average

we are talking about 70 to 80 pallets of broccoli each week. Now this is a maximum of 12.

Prices also are very high. They have increased since last week and are now at a level of Euro 20 for 5 kg. In the Netherlands this is even a few Euro more."

Never before experienced

"Also for the remainder of the week and next week a serious shortage on the market is expected. I have been in this profession for almost forty years, but I have never experienced this before. A period this long with prices that high has never happened before. I hope it will change quickly, but it does not look like that for the time being. The worst is that we have to disappoint some of our customers."

For more information:
PrimaMundo headquarters
Frugro - Magazijn 31-45 - 3 Strijbroek
2860 Sint-Katelijne-Waver
Tel.: +32 (0)15 30 54 90
Fax: +32 (0)15 31 74 11
[email protected]
www.primamundo.com