The secretary of the consortium +Brócoli, Javier Bernabéu, has reported that due to the cold wave that hit the Mediterranean area, and specifically the Region of Murcia, it is likely that "the demand for broccoli will exceed the production volume for the next two to three months."
Bernabéu explained that the cold snap of the last ten days in Spain has led to "a lower availability of broccoli, with a supply 10% below the usual, both in Europe and in the domestic market. Due to the impact of frost, the production has dropped by between 15 and 20%."
"The quality of the product has not been affected, there has only been a slowdown of the production process, especially in southern Murcia, in Guadalentín and in the fields of Cartagena," he explained.
The secretary of +Brócoli, a consortium that brings together producers, marketers and researchers, among others, has expressed concern, as the decline in the supply "has been making distribution companies very nervous, and they are now putting a lot of pressure on the growers."
It is worth noting that in addition to the current reduction in the volume, prices have actually tripled since 10 January, when it still cost 1.50 Euro per kilo.
In any case, it is not the first time in the campaign that the weather has had a negative impact, it also happened in November and December, when rains and high humidity caused a reduction in the broccoli production and a reduction of prices; a situation that did not normalise until mid-December.
The favourable development of prices and production in Spain continued until early in the year, when the broccoli production came to a halt in Italy and Greece, and lasted until 10 January, when the cold wave arrived in the Peninsula.
According to the latest report from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Environment (Mapama), the acreage devoted to the cultivation of broccoli in 2016 reached 27,700 hectares, 6.0% more than in 2015. The production volume, however, fell by 6.6% down to 427,100 tonnes.
Of that volume, the Region of Murcia produced 175,947 t; Navarre, 72,240 t; Andalusia, 47,874 t; the Region of Valencia, 45,580 t; Castile-La Mancha, 31,542 t; Aragon, 17,400 t; La Rioja, 2,150 t and Catalonia, 1,855 t.
