Cauliflower production is down by about 80 per cent, one of the UK’s largest growers has warned. Marshalls of Butterwick is seeing cold weather reduce production of cauliflower in its winter growing areas of Cornwall, Kent, Suffolk, the Isle of Wight and the south coast of England by about 80 per cent, and there is worse to come.
“The position in Spain is also getting worse as the cold weather we are experiencing is moving south,” said Marshall’s Nigel Clare.
“I can safely say that the next week will be desperate for cauliflower supply as climatic conditions -1°C and -2°C so the crop is not growing at these temperatures.”
Growers are trying to harvest as frequently as possible before heads get too large or exposed to the conditions thus allowing UK supplies to keep coming through. “Unfortunately this means our harvesting costs per acre are also dramatically increased,” warned Clare.
France is experiencing similar conditions and Breton cauliflower has moved up dramatically in price to about £1 a head.
UK packers such as Marshalls also grow in Spain but volumes are small at this point in the season. “Most suppliers are only seeing 15 to 20 per cent cover from the UK crops per week and then are making up with imported if possible,” said Clare.
The multiples continue to use cauliflower as a main retail price point indicator in the shopping basket bringing it under continuous retail pressure, and, even in this week of scant supply, retail prices were no higher than 79p and 89p a head.
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