Temperatures well below seasonal averages are continuing to affect availability of salad and vegetable lines from Spain.

Prices for aubergine spiralled on the UK market this week - reaching 1100-1200p for 5kg in Gateshead - as product ran chronically short.

In Spain itself, courgette prices have spiralled up to €2.50 (£2.17) a kilo too leading co-operatives to buy at auction in order to satisfy their clients as their own volumes have fallen so short.

Other products have been affected and iceberg lettuce arriving in the UK has been very light. Peter Davis of importer Davis (Louth) Ltd said; “Iceberg lettuce is diabolical. It is cold and raining in Spain and in some fields lettuce is just sitting in pools of water. The product is very light and watermarked but there is absolutely no alternative. The weather is lousy in Morocco too.” He added that this week it has even been snowing in Turkey. “Our leek grower has had to stop cutting in Turkey because of the snow. The situation is a mess,” he said. “It is a real battle to get decent product.”

Meanwhile, Canary Islands tomatoes are enjoying a strong season as a result. Andrew Zerpa of Victoria Trading which handles the Bonny brand from Gran Canaria said: “We are on track and have had fairly average conditions and no problems with temperatures. What the situation in mainland Spain does is strengthen the belief among buyers that they need to have a balanced portfolio. We are optimistic that we will have reasonable volumes and good quality now until the start of the northern European season.”

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