Production in the key region of Huelva in south-western Spain has suffered from intermittent torrential rainfall in the last two weeks, which is badly affecting quality and supply.
According to UK importers and producers in Spain, the major problem affecting production has been botrytis mould.
'The weather before Easter was quite good, but since then there has been a lot rain,' said John Grieve of Lisons. 'Growers are managing to pick through it, but will be short of a lot of fruit.' Prices have been low on wholesale markets because of the quality problems, making only 20p a punnet.
Lisons is hopeful that prices will move up a notch as the shortage starts to be felt on the marketplace. And depending on prices, quality and market forces, Spain is likely only to have another three weeks to run at most, as production from France, the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium starts to come on stream.
This is confirmed by Ian Waller at AFI Direct Sales. He reports strong demand for the fruit in the UK. 'There are promotions on the high street and sales are buoyant,' said Waller. 'But overall the Spanish season has been very, very difficult. They have not had a consistent run of good weather with conditions starting off wet and cold and the low temperatures lasting a long time. Now there has been a lot of rain and with the heat, it creates problems with botrytis.' Manuel Verdier of strawberry growers' association Freshuelva reports that the last two weeks have been difficult. 'Fruit either loses condition because of fungus or because the rain deteriorates the berries,' said Verdier. 'What it means for growers is a lot more work in the field and a lot more costs.' But he reports prices over the peak Easter period were only half the level that they were at the same time last year, a time when producers hope to secure a substantial position on the market at good prices. 'They have fallen dramatically because of lack of confidence in the product,' he said.
Verdier called on UK importers and their customers for understanding. 'As a sector we are making maximum effort to maintain quality and are committed to that,' he said.
'We hope to have the right weather to get the season back on track as soon as possible. But in the meantime, the market should rest assured that the product we send is maintaining quality standards.' Growers are likely to be examining their focus on strawberries closely at season's end as the previous two years have not been particularly good for producers either.
Raspberries are an alternative in the region and with a higher tolerance of warm humid conditions, have not been as badly affected as strawberries this season.
