In north-western Europe, pepper cultivation is slowly taking off, where Spain has been the leading producer and supplier to other EU countries in recent months. France is said to have had a timid start with the cold-greenhouse bell pepper season that has not yet started. It will only start in May-June.
Prices are slightly lower than usual at the start of the heated greenhouse pepper harvest from the Orléans region. Pepper production in Italy is currently concentrated in Sicily, where drought is a major challenge. Planting is also underway in Campania and Lazio, particularly in the Agro-Pontine area. In week 12, the pepper market showed average wholesale prices. According to data from GfK Consumer Panel Services, 62% of Italian households have bought peppers over the last few years, especially in the months from June to September. The vegetable is particularly popular with families living in the south of Italy, which have a basic socio-demographic profile and are composed of young people.
Germany is seeing a delayed start to the domestic harvest with imports from Spain and Turkey on the market, with Morocco only having red pointed peppers available on this market. Jordanian inflows were registered in Munich and Berlin. The Dutch and Belgian season started with extremely small quantities. The weather is described as calm as mainly green peppers are harvested with a sprinkling of colour varieties. Prices have risen a bit at the start of the season.
Spain's pepper season has started two weeks earlier in Murcia. Yields per hectare in Murcia are higher compared to the previous campaign. Israel has had successful organic bell peppers exports to the US market. An exporter said they have hit the right window, while they have found good importers who are distributing their peppers in premium chains. This has led to good pricing and demand.
South Africa has seen a drop in red and yellow pepper prices. The local market was also said to have changed in recent seasons with green peppers reaching higher prices than red and yellow peppers. The South African sun at the end of summer and start of autumn is as harsh as ever on pepper production in the fields. Sunburn has led to "unbelievable" losses due to the damage of especially young peppers.
Demand in North America is strong on bell peppers. A historically long red bell pepper market just wrapped up in Coachella, California earlier this month. Normally the season runs from the end of November until February 1st. Thanks to a lack of weather interruptions, such as a freeze event, they had the longer season. Supply issues out of Mexico, following storms that affected the season's planting, also kept the market strong enough for the California region to continue packing. Turkey increased the production areas of yellow, red, and green peppers. Their bell pepper exports increased at high rates this season to the delight of both exporters and producers. Russia ranks first in buying Turkish bell peppers, with Germany, Poland, and Romania seen as the best markets for Turkish exporters.
France: Timid start, prices slightly lower than usual at the start of the season
While the French cold-greenhouse bell pepper season has not yet begun (it will start in the South of France in May-June), the first peppers grown in heated greenhouses in the Orléans region have just arrived on the market (15 days ago for the greens and this week for the reds).
The season got off to a timid start, with prices slightly lower than usual at the start of the season. With the severe lack of light this winter, a number of flowers have aborted. This means that volumes are likely to dip a little in March/April. But as soon as the sun returns, production will pick up and the shortfall can certainly be made up.
On the consumer front, most products are currently facing the same problem. Since the beginning of the year, we've been in a somewhat sluggish situation, with producers creating the need for distributors. But with the fine weather on the way and the start of Ramadan - a time of year when many peppers are consumed - there's every chance that consumption will pick up in the days ahead.
At the start of the season, French peppers are also up against imported products, particularly from Spain.
Italy: Sicilian drought a challenge to production
A trader from the Lazio region said: 'We sell Sicilian peppers and in the last week we have seen a slight drop in price. The price is around €1.00-1.10, despite the high quality and market demand. This drop is explained by the milder temperatures, which favour an increase in supply.
A wholesaler in northern Italy reported selling peppers at between €2.00 and €2.50/kg, depending on the quality. These peppers, of Sicilian origin, are the only ones he deals with, as he does not import foreign products. However, the prices of Spanish peppers on the market are about the same.
A Sicilian producer who grows peppers from September to June said: "The drought is a great challenge. We have limited resources, also in view of the campaign of other crops such as melons. For the next two weeks, I expect a stable market with producer prices around 1.00-1.50 €/kg, depending on quality. The low Easter could be an advantage, but we will see".
Lastly, a northern Italian pepper grower highlighted the importance of Italy organizing its production to ensure year-round availability of the vegetable. Currently, the gap in production is filled by imports from Spain or the Netherlands. "Producing Italian peppers all year round is a feasible challenge, especially by adopting more resistant and suitable varieties, such as the pointed pepper."
Germany: Delayed start to the domestic harvest
Spanish products formed the basis of the range, which was supplemented by Turkish imports. From Morocco only red pointed peppers were available. Jordanian inflows were registered in Munich and Berlin. The Dutch and Belgian season started with extremely small quantities.
Spanish products were not entirely convincing in terms of quality. Overall, marketing was relatively quiet. The Ramadan month increased demand for Turkish products on various occasions. Prices tended to fall rather than rise; the new competition from the Netherlands and Belgium often prompted traders to lower their demands for Spanish batches.
Netherlands and Belgium: Low volumes at start of the season
After a dark, sometimes (too) gray, but not cold spring, Dutch and Flemish bell pepper cultivation is getting going again. The cultivation is doing well thanks to the calm weather. The first mainly green peppers are harvested. Here and there also the first red, yellow and orange peppers are ready to harvest. Small numbers of yellow, red and orange are already on the market.
In the Netherlands, a little more red and a little less yellow have been planted. After difficult years with root problems, many growers have invested (additionally) in water quality, among other things. Many growers have also chosen a specific variety for red and orange peppers.
The acreage is comparable to last year. Some larger Dutch growers are expanding this year with new-build greenhouses that should go into production next year. At the same time, some (smaller) growers stopped last year.
With the low volumes of week 12, the prices do not yet say much for what will happen for the rest of the season, but for the time being the prices for the first local peppers have risen to around 2 euros per kilo, in line with last year at the start of the season.
Spain: Earlier start to season
Murcia's bell pepper harvest started about two weeks early due to high demand and the current gap in Almería for the green sort, which continues to fetch high prices at auctions.
The start of the harvest in the Region of Murcia was scheduled for mid-March, but the ripening of the fruits has happened about a week earlier due to the dry and warm climate, which in turn has resulted in a very good quality product.
Also, the significant demand for green bell peppers and the high prices, ranging between 1.80 and 2 euros at Murcian auctions, have encouraged producers to start earlier with the harvest. Almeria has a good supply of red bell peppers, but there is a shortage of green bell peppers, which are also needed for the three-color packaging formats.
Yields per hectare in Murcia are higher compared to the previous campaign. For now, according to an exporter, green peppers and some small volumes of the first red peppers continue to be harvested. Producers are focusing on the green pepper, for which we expect good results in March in terms of prices. This, in turn, will help regulate the production of red peppers ahead of April and prevent an overlap between the end of Almeria and the start of the Dutch campaign.
In general, Murcia's bell pepper acreage remains stable at around 1,500 hectares. Soltir has 310 hectares, with an estimated production of about 22 million kilos of bell peppers and about 18 million kilos of Lamuyo peppers.
Israel: Organic peppers sent via airfreight to US doing well
Organic bell peppers (capsicum) from Israel is doing well in the US market. An exporter in Israel said it is all about timing and reaching the right sales window. They are working with a few specialised importers in the US who are selling the organic peppers, said to be of high quality, to specific premium chains in that market. "The small quantities of peppers are going for good prices," the exporter noted.
He noted although they are not sending big volumes, it is more than they exported last season. The exporter said they also have the Ramiro variety of sweet pepper, known for its dark green to bright red colour and high brix.
South Africa: High prices, product scarce
Not long ago green peppers were R60 for a 6kg box, now it trades for R100 (4.8 euros) to R120 (5.8 euros) at the municipal markets.
Meanwhile red and yellow peppers prices remain at far lower levels: R60 (2.9 euros) to R70 (3.4 euros) a box, basically breakeven for a farmer given the high input costs to niche peppers. (Eighteen months ago a 6kg box of red and yellow peppers cost as much as R300 or 14.59 euros.). The average pepper price is R10.86 (0.52 euro) per kilogram: R12.20 (0.59 euro) for green peppers versus R6.75 (0.32 euro) for red peppers.
"You're now getting more for a green pepper than for a red or yellow - and it shouldn't be like that." The pepper producer in the far north of Limpopo Province adds, that barely ever happened before, but over the past two or three years, this situation has played out with greater frequency.
To benefit from higher green peppers, growers pick younger, still green fruit from their yellow and red pepper plants in net houses (and these plants then resume flowering quicker). On-farm revenue from high green pepper prices is, however, tempered by the lower available volumes due to sunburn.
"Temperatures are a bit better now," the grower says, "meaning that it's not 44C, only 34C."
They've had mid-forty temperatures continuously over the past few weeks. Young peppers are sustaining burn injuries, particularly when leaves wilt and expose the fruit on the western side to afternoon sun. Sunburn losses on bell peppers have been "unbelievable", he remarks, despite regular irrigation.
North America: Demand strong on bell peppers
A historically long, red bell pepper market just wrapped up in Coachella, California earlier this month. Normally the season runs from the end of November until February 1st.
That longer season was thanks to a lack of weather interruptions such as a freeze event. Supply issues out of Mexico, following storms that affected the season's planting, also kept the market strong enough for the California region to continue packing. Production is also going on the East Coast.
Production in Coachella will resume April 15 on green bell peppers and May 7th on red bell peppers.
As for demand, it was good for bell peppers through the beginning of 2024. Normally with regular levels of supply out of Mexico at this time, supply tends to exceed demand and prices are softer. However this year it's been the opposite of that.
Looking ahead, demand is anticipated to pick up on peppers with the spring weather warming the country back up.
Turkey: Increased production areas of yellow, red, and green peppers
The Turkish bell pepper exports are increasing this season. An exporter noted that bell peppers are the fourth or fifth most exported vegetable from Turkey. Their bell pepper exports continue to increase at high rates this season to the delight of both exporters and producers. Russia ranks first in buying Turkish bell peppers, with Germany, Poland, and Romania seen as the best markets for Turkish exporters. Almost all of the Turkish bell pepper production is exported to other countries.
Next week's topic: Limes