The next two weeks are likely to see a decline in strawberry availability and some strong pricing, The Summerfruit Company (TSC) has warned.
“The dip is in line with the seasonal norm, but we are way over the peak of glasshouse fruit from the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands so we will see a significant dip and some significant price increases,” said TSC’s sales director Ian Waller.
The next source to come on stream will be Egypt, which is starting its season earlier than usual. “We expect to have commercial volumes by the third week of November, possibly the week before,” said Waller. He reported that varieties from the group’s Redeva breeding programme in the country are looking extremely promising, particularly Susana, Red Merlin and Red Delight. Israel will be the next source and is set to start in line with a normal year, with availability from Morocco then forecast for December.
Meanwhile, the Spanish strawberry season is gearing up to start a month ahead of its usual date at the end of December.
Freshuelva, the producers and exporters association in the main growing area in south-west Spain, reports that some co-operatives are planning to begin harvesting at the end of next month and are already preparing Camarosa plants to go into the ground.
Growers and nurseries report that weather conditions are very favourable for planting, hence the early start. Many of the plants are grown in nurseries in central Spain for transplanting in Huelva and quality of the plant material is very good, according to Freshuelva. Transplanting will continue throughout the month.
Festival has been the first variety going in the ground for an initial harvest at the end of December. Candonga and Coral, which are native Spanish varieties, are in the second wave of plantings, with Camarosa the last to go in the ground.
In the 2006-07 season, some 6,280 hectares were under production of strawberries in the Huelva region. Freshuelva calculates that the figure will be similar in the 2007-08 season. The strawberry crop was worth £240 million last season.
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