Spanish grower-exporters are warning that volumes of iceberg lettuce coming onto the market are running at just half of expectations and the shortage is likely to continue.
Proexport, which represents producer-exporters in the south-eastern region of Murcia, reports that this week its members and their neighbours in Almería are experiencing “their worst week of the season”.
Low night-time temperatures have paralysed plant development which will continue to affect output in the weeks to come.
Over the last three weeks the harvest has been progressing at 50 per cent of expected levels because of the cold snap which came on the back of frosts at the end of 2010. “The last month we have had adverse weather with many cloudy days and freezing cold nights which have meant that yields are considerably lower than usual and plants are just not developing as they would normally,” said Juan Alfonso Sánchez, commercial director at G’s España. “This is going to have an impact over the next few weeks and will mean less product coming forward.”
Proexport’s director general Fernando Gómez Molina has also indicated there will be a knock-on effect. “Exports are being hit by the weather but it also affecting replantings which growers would have hoped to harvest in a few weeks time,” said Gómez.
The UK is the region’s second-largest export market for iceberg lettuce, accounting for 155,111 tonnes in 2009.
