Brittany has been hit by a severe storm and heavy rainfall over the past two months, significantly affecting the harvest of products such as cauliflower. This is what Christian Kaufmann, Managing Director of Naturkost Schramm Import-Export Ltd, told us. "In Brittany, crops like savoy cabbage, leeks, and carrots have also suffered severe harvest losses of up to 30 percent. A storm, with speeds of 200 km/h, swept through the region in early November, naturally damaging the crops. However, the biggest problem arose from the rain that has been persisting for two months. As a result, there were floods, which heavily waterlogged the soil and caused the roots to rot."
High prices for cauliflower
The quality and shelf life of the goods are, therefore, barely acceptable. "The prices for cauliflower have been very high for several weeks. The price situation has not improved since the storm. We get our main volumes of cauliflower and other cabbages from Brittany. Due to the current situation, we are now sourcing more goods from Spain and Italy, but that is not nearly enough." The organic company receives between 50 and 60 pallets of goods from Brittany per week, with around 400 kg of cauliflower per pallet. "The storm also destroyed many greenhouses. Therefore, the producers will probably be able to plant later. Summer crops such as tomatoes, fruit vegetables, etc., will also be severely affected," says Kaufmann.
Stable business year 2023
Business year 2023 was relatively stable. "It was not a good year, but it wasn't a catastrophic one either. Of course, we hope that organic consumption will increase again in 2024. Although energy costs have stabilized again, the increase in toll charges in December means that we have to pay up to 200 to 250 Euros more per truck. Diesel prices are also still high."
All deliveries for Monday, January 8, 2024, have been canceled. "Neither we nor our customers will have goods delivered on Monday. No one wants to take the risk of the goods getting stuck during the protests. However, for the weekend in calendar week 1, we expect a 20 percent higher turnover than the same period last year. The holiday on January 6 will be the biggest sales day of the week."
Photos: Naturkost Schramm Import-Export GmbH.
For more information:
Christian Kaufmann
Naturkost Schramm Import-Export GmbH
Industriestraße 5 a
D-77767 Appenweier
Tel. +49 (0) 7805 9668-20
Fax +49 (0) 7805 9668-70
[email protected]
www.schramm-naturkost.com