The pepper season is still in its early stages in the Spanish region of Murcia, and production is still limited, under pressure from high demand across Europe and fairly high auction prices. The supply of Murcia peppers is not expected to reach its peak until the end of April. Until then, and until volumes from the Netherlands are also significant, weeks of high demand are expected.
"The pepper harvest in Murcia started a week earlier than in the 2024 season, driven by strong demand, as volumes from Almeria have fallen much earlier than usual," says Ángel García Izquierdo, commercial director of the Murcian company Soltir, one of the largest Murcian pepper auctions.
Around 25% of the pepper production in Almeria has been affected by Thrips parvispinus, and there have been significant quality problems, so many growers decided to pull up the crops early, which has left a gap in the supply in March and caused remarkable price increases. Also, the rainy weather has not facilitated production, and this has accentuated the supply gap.
Although the volumes of Murcian peppers are increasing by 20% every day, the supply is still limited and is mainly made up of green peppers. At the end of week 12, the price paid for the Murcian product reached 2.80 euros.
"Demand for peppers is expected to remain higher than supply until the end of April, when supply will peak and stay at that level until July," says Ángel García. By then, the presence of Dutch peppers will also be more remarkable," he says.
Soltir's Sales Director is optimistic: "We've had good growing conditions, despite the rains in March, which have not caused major problems in the pepper growing areas, although it has slowed down harvesting by around fifteen days. Moreover, it seems that, for now, Thrips parvispinus is not having a major impact on pepper crops in Murcia, and integrated pest control is keeping it at bay."
Soltir produces around 40,000 tons of peppers per season, with more than 60% of them being bell peppers and the rest, of the Lamuyo variety.
For more information:
Ángel García Izquierdo
Soltir
Tel.: +34 968 334 800
San Javier-Murcia motorway, km 22.
30592 San Cayetano. Murcia. Spain
angel@soltir.com
www.soltir.com