Spain: Broccoli prices will depend on the temperatures
"In October, we were already exporting broccoli at a very quick pace, with significant volumes ranging between 800,000 and 1,000,000 kilos per week," reports a source from Campo de Lorca. "This year, due to the high autumn temperatures, we started about three weeks earlier."
The increasingly limited availability of water in the GuadalentÃn Valley, the main broccoli production area in Murcia, has motivated a greater number of producers to plant in higher areas, in Caravaca, Yecla, Jumilla and even Albacete, where water supply is assured but, nevertheless, there is an increased risk of frost. This is leading to greater instability in the production this year.
"During the last two weeks, broccoli volumes fell due to the impact of frost." Before these two weeks, the broccoli had been growing at an unusual rate, coinciding with the switch from the summer to the winter varieties. The latter, especially the Partenon, have grown with excess heat, and after sudden temperature drops, the plant's development stopped completely."
"There was not enough broccoli to meet the demand and prices skyrocketed in the auctions. Sales dropped by 10%, but that's something that customers understand, or should understand. Prices have been very high and in an upward trend until last week. Now the situation is changing and prices are normalising, for the benefit of everyone, since we avoid speculation and all links in the chain obtain acceptable margins," stated the source from this Murcian company.
For the coming weeks, higher volumes are expected to be sold due to the Christmas season, during which the demand for this product usually increases, although whether the prices will remain stable or not will depend on the temperatures, since the forecasts point to imminent colder weather.