The demand for open ground vegetables is low at the moment, especially for iceberg lettuce.
"We have spent several weeks with slow sales due to a lack of consumption at destination," said Domingo Llamas, president of the Murcian firm Unexport. "The supply of many lettuce varieties has already increased and all of these aim to gain a foothold in the market, and iceberg lettuce is especially affected by this. The acreage devoted to this crop has been slightly reduced compared to last year due to the rise in production costs and low profitability in the last two years."
The price of a box of iceberg lettuce amounts to around €4.50, according to Domingo Llamas, "which, taking into account the higher costs, means losses for the growers," he said. "In the case of broccoli, despite the reduction in the acreage this year, and therefore in the production, prices are barely profitable."
According to Domingo Llamas, the start of the Spanish export of open ground vegetables, such as lettuce and broccoli, was delayed due to the season being extended in the destination countries. "Autumn in Spain has so far been too hot, which has caused stress to the plants and affected their quality, meaning that, for now, there have also been fewer kilos available."
"Consumers are more cautious when making their purchases due to the impact of inflation on the economy and the uncertainty ahead of the coming months," said the president of Unexport. "In these circumstances, competing third countries such as Morocco and Turkey are putting a lot of pressure on Spanish lettuce, tomato, pepper or zucchini. When times are bad for the economy, prices always become more important than other factors at the time of purchase. We hope that the situation will improve from December onwards and that the demand will increase," said Domingo Llamas.
For more information:
Unexport
Polígono Industrial Juan Lucas,
C7 – Nave 4,
30816 La Hoya, Lorca, Murcia, Spain
T +34 968 48 67 04
www.unexport.es