The floods and snowfall which decimated Spanish vegetables at the start of this year has led to an influx of demand for other routes where iceberg lettuces are grown further afield as retailers look to stock their shelves, according to IAG Cargo.
The group, which is the cargo handling division of International Airlines Group, said demand from the Americas in particular was soaring as a result of the European supply shortage.
“As a result of the poor Spanish harvest, we have seen volumes of iceberg lettuces and other fresh products flying from the West Coast of the US to the UK double over the past week, when compared to the same period last year,' said Joe LeBeau, vice-president North America at IAG Cargo.
'Typically lettuces are originating from Northern Mexico and Arizona and are travelling through Los Angeles or Seattle airports to London Heathrow,' LeBeau added. 'Early indications are that these higher than usual volumes will be sustained over the short term.”
