The beginning of the year has been a turning point for open ground and greenhouse vegetables, which have generally recorded lower prices around week 3 than they did in the 2022/23 campaign.
"It's true that, in general, prices this campaign are not reaching last year's levels, but at Difrusol we have been growing in terms of volume, so we are not dissatisfied with the results we are obtaining, both in Almeria and Murcia," says Borja Herrera.
"There has been a great supply of aromatic herbs, so prices have been lacking compared to previous years. The lettuce supply has been subject to constant ups and downs throughout the campaign, and, after a recovery, it seems that the market is stagnating again." The price of Romaine lettuce, for example, stood at an average of 0.247 euros/kilo at origin in week 10, according to data shared by the Ministry, while in the same week of the previous year it amounted to around 0.39 euros.
"As for broccoli, there have been moments of over-production in which the producers we usually work with were persuading us to continue loading," says Borja. "This situation of the production and the kind of clients we have been working with, more price-oriented, has led to us marketing more broccoli than in other campaigns, because it could be obtained at a very interesting price, which is unfortunately for the producers."
"For about 15 days now, prices at origin have been rising and broccoli is now marketed for a more reasonable price, after hitting rock bottom two weeks ago." In fact, in week 10, the average price per kilo did not even reach 48 cents and stood below the average of the last five campaigns, while in the same week of last year it amounted to around 93 cents/kilo, according to prices published by the MAPA. "This week, we are already marketing it at about 1.40-1.50 euros/kilo, which allows for better price levels for producers."
Regarding cauliflower, the campaign has been quite "atypical," says Borja, "because there have been moments when there was no supply, namely in December and early January, and prices were very high. The situation has been normalizing and now prices are low, but manageable."
While the open ground vegetable campaigns continue, the greenhouse ones are gradually coming to a close, paving the way for the local European productions. "The impact of that isn't visible yet, but the quality of some products is starting to fall behind and we are withdrawing to avoid problems at destination. For example, we have started to load less pepper. We are still doing some red, but we have almost stopped working with the green and yellow."
"In Almeria, apart from vegetables, we are already getting ready for the watermelon and melon season. So far, we have not had any news of the crop being affected by any abnormal conditions, so the campaign should have a normal development and we expect to start with the first fruits from week 17," says Borja.
For more information:
Difrusol S.L.
Avda. De España n.º 4. Planta 1-7
30562 Ceutí, Murcia, Spain
Tel.: +34 968 694 250
[email protected]
www.difrusol.com