Many Spanish vegetables are currently hard to come by, because production has decreased as a result of the rain in Spain. “The plants concerned are mostly those that are quickly affected by bad weather, for example, courgettes, cucumbers and aubergines. All three of these products are very dependent on the weather. Prices are, respectively, 10 euro, 13 euro and 16/17 euro per crate or box. These are very high prices,” says an importer.
Two more difficult months
According to the trader, courgettes were not only affected by the rain, but also by the New Delhi virus. “A lot of production was also lost because of that. Not just Spain, but Morocco is troubled by this as well. That can be noticed because Morocco usually sends a lot of product to France.” According to him, it is difficult to say how long this situation will last. “I personally do not expect too much courgette production in February. We will probably have two more difficult months, especially for this vegetable.”
Supply and demand
Whether prices will increase further depends on supply and demand in the coming weeks. “They are already at a very high level. I wonder if it will get much higher. Hopefully, it will become better in the coming weeks. Fruit and vegetables continue to be dependent on supply and demand. And we cannot do much about the weather.” However, there are also vegetables with lower prices. “Iceberg lettuce, for example, has prices of 3.50 to 4.50 euro. These have much production but not much demand.”