Average temperatures have been rising in southeastern Spain, where most of the vegetables in Europe are produced and where the cold and lack of light have caused the production to drop drastically since the last week of January, causing shortages in the markets.
The production of greenhouse vegetables is now slowly starting to recover, and prices, which continue to be very high for almost all products, are falling slightly in some cases, such as that of zucchini, eggplant, or cucumber.
"Never in my life have I seen a situation like this, with such a constant lack of supply, because in general, we have lacked between 35 and 40% of the production," says Ginés González, manager of Hortisol. "First, we had excess heat in summer and autumn, which took a toll on the fruit setting, and then, in mid-January, temperatures dropped, causing the yields per square meter of almost all crops to decrease."
"An example: for this campaign, we have planted about 20% more on the vine tomatoes compared to last year, but we have not seen the production volumes increase until this week, and they have done so by just 3% so far. However, we hope that in the coming weeks, the supply will recover, as there is a lot planted," says Ginés.
"In bell peppers, however, I don't think the volumes will fully recover. There will be some more supply as the weather improves, but we will not reach the usual figures because most of it has already been harvested, so prices will remain high," he says. A good start is therefore expected for Murcia's peppers in spring and for the Netherlands, which will also start later, as less has been planted with artificial light due to the high energy costs.
According to the manager of Hortisol, the prices for tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers have been way too high. Meanwhile, those of zucchini have remained lower and stable compared to other products, perhaps also because there is more production this year.
"Despite the high prices, customers have continued placing orders since these products are considered basic commodities. The issue has not been the price but the availability. Almost all the production has been going to supermarket chains to cover programs, with wholesale markets being more affected. There has hardly been any product available for free sale in the last few weeks.
For more information:
Ginés González
Frutas Hortisol S.L.
Tel.: +34 950550234
Mob.: +34 670626792
gines@frutashortisol.es
www.frutashortisol.es