Spanish lettuce exporters have admitted they are unlikely to meet the expected end-of-year demand for the product in key European markets, after fluctuating temperatures affected much of the winter crop.
According to export association Proexport, the regions of Murcia and Almería, which produce 90 per cent of the lettuce crop for export during December, are likely to be affected by a “hole in production”, as a result of the unfavourable weather.
In a statement, the Murcia-based organisation said that the forecast fall in production would coincide with the peak period of demand for the product across Europe, during the festive season.
Proexport said that unseasonably high temperatures in south-east Spain during the autumn, followed the sudden onset of colder weather at the beginning of December had affected the crop, resulting in a “significant reduction” in the export forecast.
“Production was brought forward by three weeks due to the high temperatures in the autumn and, as a result of this, exports will be down on the original forecast during weeks 50 and 51,” said Vicente Martínez, sales director of Urcisol.
“The bringing forward of the harvest due to the warn autumn and the start of the cold weather in December has only added to the catastrophic situation that Spanish growers are facing at the present time,” added Javier Soto from Agrar Systems.
The main markets for Spanish lettuce are Germany and the UK, which last year imported 236,686 tonnes and 172,414 tonnes respectively.
Spain exported some 554,165 tonnes of lettuce during 2008, of which Murcia accounted for 439,024 tonnes.
