Temperatures in the Region of Murcia have so far been ideal for the broccoli campaign and allowed the cycles for the different varieties to develop as scheduled, according to Luis Jiménez, from Hortalizas San Luis, which is a specialist in this vegetable and an associate of +Brócoli.
"At the moment, prices stand at very high levels due to the lack of local production in Europe, where the campaign has finished earlier than expected. Exports usually begin in Spain in mid-November, which means we should already be starting next week. But this year the demand has started a month earlier."
"The United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany or France have had problems due to a lack of water and temperature drops at specific times of their campaigns, and their productions finished hastily, so Spanish products started to be demanded to ensure the needs of their customers would continue to be met."
In fact, according to the weekly price bulletin of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, broccoli closed October with significantly higher prices than average (+172.4% at origin and +152.1% at the warehouse), and reached up to 1.90 Euro on some auctions in the region.
"Next week, the supply will start to increase, so these price levels will also drop," says Luis. "And while there is a good demand for broccoli in the international market, in Spain we are noticing that consumption is increasing by leaps and bounds every year. In fact, the domestic market is becoming an increasingly important customer and, given this upward trend, I believe that, in the very short term, consumption in Spain will be at the same level as in Europe."
The fact is that, backed by clever promotional work from the +Brócoli Association, this vegetable is quickly becoming a staple in Spanish cuisine, positioning itself as one of the main products on offer. "Broccoli is already a very important product right now, but it is going to become a flagship product," said Luis Jiménez.
For more information:
Hortalizas San Luis
Carretera Nueva n.º 22
30816 Lorca, Murcia. Spain
Tel.: +34 968 481 559
http://luisjimenezsl.es