UK importers are struggling to keep up with demand for salad from customers due to prolonged periods of cold and high humidity affecting output in Spain, a main supplier to Britain.
Producers’ association Proexport, which represents growers in the south-eastern Spanish region of Murcia, there will be a 27% decline in output year on year over Easter (April 4) and the following week.
Exporters are warning the situation will get worse before it gets better and that they will really struggle to supply their customers throughout Europe, according to freshinfo.com.
UK importers say have been struggling since almost the beginning of the year to keep customers supplied across all salad lines, as well as try and break even themselves. One told Freshinfo: “We have been supplementing arrivals from south-east Spain with product from France and Italy, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Tunisia the US, wherever we can. This has been going on for three months off and on across tomatoes, capsicum and cucumbers, as well as iceberg.”
