As the Spanish cauliflower season comes to a close supplies are likely to run tight in the UK over the next few weeks before the domestic summer crop comes on stream.
Peter Davis of importer-exporter Davis Worldwide said: “There is no over-wintered cauliflower left in the UK, the summer crop is not ready yet and Spain has finished now as it is too hot for cauliflower.”
Davis forecasts that the next two weeks will see a shortage in the marketplace and deterioration in quality of those supplies that do make it. “The situation is a mess and it will get worse before it gets better. I think cauliflower will be de-listed in supermarkets next week - there is just nowhere you can get it from,” he said.
Lack of rain is also a problem across France, Belgium, the UK, the Netherlands and Germany.
Meanwhile, Asaja Murcia said Spanish producers report being very pleased with the progress of their season for cauliflower and other winter vegetables.