After a complicated spring, the summer is looking much more clement for the French cucumber campaign. "We experienced great weather variations at the start of the season. In the spring of 2023, the volumes on the French market were in excess, due to the overlapping of regions, with the south of France arriving 3 weeks ahead of schedule. Faced with weather conditions that did not allow for normal consumption levels between late April and early May, we ended up with a lot of merchandise on the market, which inevitably drove prices down," explains Alexandre Picault, sales director of Kultive.
Simon Boisgard / © Philippe Montigny
Jean-Marc and Grégoire Leriche / © Philippe Montigny
Destroying the merchandise rather than maintaining extremely low prices
Last year, the situation was completely different. Cucumbers had reached record price levels due to exceptional consumption induced by the heatwave. "This year's situation has led us to sell at a loss during the few weeks when consumption levels were very low. We would have liked to be able to run promotional actions with supermarkets to help us sell off the merchandise, but due to a lack of planning, we were unable to do so. Instead of participating in this downward price spiral and in order to guarantee the freshest possible products to our consumers, we preferred to destroy the merchandise. There is no point in maintaining a market at any price. In our organization, we are fortunate enough to only pack our products on demand, so it is easier and cheaper to throw away produce that is raw rather than already packaged, even if we would prefer not to do so."
Claire Gacoin / © Philippe Montigny
The market recovered at the end of June
This spring was particularly difficult for French cucumbers, but the situation has improved since the end of June. Since the beginning of 2023, prices have remained in line with the average of the last three years. "We started July with no excess in production. Prices were not exceptional, but still average. There is a lot of heterogeneity between producers, who are not all in the same situation."
Supply deficit in the face of dynamic consumption in July
In July, the drop in volumes was accompanied by an increase in consumption, which reversed the situation. "In July, consumption was higher than production. There was actually a shortage of supply due to the fact that we were at the crossroads of crops and that grubbing-up took place earlier this year. This situation resulted in fairly high prices for the season. But we are quite confident about the rest of the campaign, as volumes will increase in August, and we have planned a number of promotional actions with our clients to promote cucumber consumption. We now hope that the weather in August will be favorable for cucumber consumption. On the other hand, if the scorching weather in Spain continues, it will be difficult for growers to replant. We can therefore expect moderate competition from Spain in September and October."
Snack cucumbers, a diversification with growing popularity
Snack cucumbers are increasingly appealing to consumers. "It is a product with many advantages. Sold in packages of 3, at 2 € [2.20 USD], it can be placed in the first-price range while guaranteeing maximum freshness to consumers. Smaller than a traditional cucumber, it also avoids food waste. It is a product that is becoming increasingly popular, and it is perfectly suited to the current inflationary context."
All cucumbers produced and marketed by Kultive benefit from the HEV and Demain la Terre certifications.
For more information:
Alexandre Picault
Kultive
190 allée du Bois Vert
45640 Sandillon
Tel.: 02 38 49 33 49
www.kultive.fr