Totally mental veg prices

[Sid]

bought fish and chips for the family in Ilfracombe last summer and that was over £40

Summer inflation!

 

[jondear]

You may as well chew paper as Iceberg Lettuce in supermarkets
And organic vine Tom's are lush

Organic carrots always taste like carrots used to!

 

[SteveHudd]

I doubt there’s very many growers making much out of it, drought and frost will of seriously impacted yields, more growers will pack up imo the risk is far out balancing the reward.

 

[Chrismc530]

Before I get a hard time, I'm a grower, but due to some crazy weather in the Meditterrain countries & severe frost here in the UK, plus cost of gas for Dutch glasshouses. Prices have gone into total orbit. That is wholesale market prices a 13kg box of Spanish Broccoli is now £20, 8 French caulies £22, Spanish onions 25kg net £24, A box 6kg of Dutch vine tomatoes £20.

I say wholesale prices because some super market prices are less on the other hand 200g of sprouts at Tesco is £1.30 they have had a real margin on that as well as the tiny Scottish swedes at 80p each. See this all the time in supermarkets, rip off prices on plentiful items & giving stuff away that is expensive, mind games to get the punters in.

I'm told minus one C in Italy will cause things to get worse, minus seven C in Spain started the crisis off.

Glad I had some PSB & caulie which has survived the frost

And it’s a crying match trying to get 60p for caulis in season here. Frost melted our last caulis and gave the savoys a bad touch unfortunately. Leeks and sprouts are the only crops you can depend on this time of year here. If I could get £1.30/200g for sprouts I’d be smiling like a Cheshire Cat

 

[Devil's advocate]

And it’s a crying match trying to get 60p for caulis in season here. Frost melted our last caulis and gave the savoys a bad touch unfortunately. Leeks and sprouts are the only crops you can depend on this time of year here. If I could get £1.30/200g for sprouts I’d be smiling like a Cheshire Cat

Thats why they are dear.

Minus 6 in Spain, the bit that should never get a frost.

 

[Bogweevil]

Extreme weather events are principal cause of industry’s chronic supply shortages and sky-high spot prices, according to Tim O’Malley of Nationwide Produce​

Erratic and unusual growing conditions, not inflation, are the main cause of the chronic supply shortages and astronomical spot prices seen across a number of fresh produce categories in Britain.
This was the emphatic message from group managing director of Nationwide Produce, Tim O’Malley, who stressed that “Mother Nature” is “the biggest issue we now have as an industry”.
The weather, rather than inflation, was the “the talk of the show” at Fruit Logistica, he said. And volatile growing conditions linked to climate change have seen spot prices shoot up and remain high across a number of different fruit and vegetables.
“There’s no greater barometer of supply and demand for produce than the spot price,” said O’Malley, “and I can honestly say that in the 40 years I’ve been in this trade, I’ve never seen such high spot prices across such a broad range of products for such a prolonged period of time.”
He gave the following examples in a market update written on 14 February:

Product	Current spot price per box delivered	Approx. normal spot price at this time of year
Yellow peppers	£22	£8-£9
Red peppers	£21	£8-£9
Green peppers	£13	£7-£8
Round tomatoes	£14	£6-£8
Cherry tomatoes	£17	£5-£6
Aubergines	£18	£6-£8
Courgettes	£12	£5-£7
Cucumbers	£16	£5-£7
Iceberg	£19	£6-£8
Cos	£15	£7-£8
Gem	£18	£10-£12
Broccoli	£20	£8-£10
Cauliflower	£14 (was £24 last week)	£6-£8
Red cabbage x25kg net	£15	£7-£9
Dutch onions x4kg net	£700/tonne	£250-£280/t

“The spot job is running at 100-200 per cent above the norm. Depending on the crop, inflation would account for around 20-40 per cent of that,” he said.
“The biggest issue we now have as an industry is not inflation, it’s Mother Nature. She’s wiping the floor with inflation.
“So, what does this mean? For the retailers: empty shelves. We’re already seeing it. The retailers are locked in a price war and reluctant to move on price, so I’m afraid they will continue to suffer from major shortages. We’re seeing empty shelves now and I can only see it getting worse over the next few weeks and months.
“With regards to foodservice and wholesale, poor availability will continue – although hopefully we’ll start to see a reduction in the exceptionally high prices we are experiencing now.
“That said, I very much doubt spot prices will drop back to normal levels for the rest of this season. I expect prices to remain relatively high. It’s yet another increased cost burden that the hospitality industry needs like a hole in the head.”

Era of cheap produce ‘must end’
The Nationwide Produce boss complained that despite all the pressures on growers and suppliers, demand for cheap food at retail was driving down domestic fruit and vegetable production and increasing the need for imports.
“Growers are being asked to carry the risk of battling against Mother Nature in return for a low-price contract that customers see as the norm,” he said.
“With ever-increasing extreme weather patterns, the risk-to-reward ratio for growers is becoming unbearable. The era of cheap fresh produce needs to come to an end.”
Weather woes
According to O’Malley, the current production problems began with Europe’s summer heatwave and drought, which was followed by a “very mild autumn” and a winter “deep freeze” that saw temperatures drop to -15°C in Catalonia.
“Spain is our main source of fresh produce in winter by far,” he said. “And they’ve pretty much gone straight from a red-hot summer to a freezing cold winter with no autumn in between.
“All crops will suffer, even protected crops, when you experience such a sharp drop in temperature. All this has led to a major reduction in yields, a reduction in size, quality issues, viruses, thrips, botrytis etc.”
Spain isn’t the only country to suffer with adverse weather of course. O’Malley also pointed to prolonged periods of sub-zero temperature in Morocco, another major source of fresh produce for Britain in the winter, and major problems for UK vegetable growers.
“We have a proper storm brewing on a range of vegetable crops,” he said. “After the warmest summer on record, Britain suffered a cold snap in December that saw temperatures countrywide dip as low as -8°C for a prolonged period.
“This caused frost damage to various crops such as carrots, parsnips, cabbage and over-wintered cauliflower, resulting in many fields being written off. We are about to see serious shortages and price hikes on these lines in the coming weeks and months.”
Spanish shortfalls
Looking at Spanish production in greater detail, Nationwide’s technical team in Almeria reported the following crop shortfalls due to cold weather in January:

• Tomatoes -35 per cent
• Cucumbers -50 per cent
• Aubergines -35 per cent
• Courgettes -40 per cent
• Peppers -40 per cent

In cucumbers, Nationwide reported a significant decrease in the production and availability in Almeria and Granada, with adverse growing conditions contributing to an increase in viruses. These conditions continue to seriously affect crops, resulting in general crop failures and product shortages.
Meanwhile, in peppers the season has been “tremendously complicated”, the supplier said, due to erratic temperatures, poor fruit set, and the appearance of tobacco thrips – a virus previously associated with ornamental plants. These factors have combined to cause a significant drop in volumes.
In addition, aubergine production has been “severely reduced” due to climatic changes. The fruit suffers more than other products from extreme temperature differences and sudden drops in temperature affect fattening. Twenty-degree swings between day and night have severely reduced production.
Tomatoes, however, are the most affected product in terms of yield, with the appearance of devastating disease ToBRV causing the collapse of some crops

 

[David.]

15p at Christmas

Don't worry we were still eating those well into January, just hang 'em outside in an onion net. Interestingly, the Morrisons 35p ones kept way better than the Aldi ones.

 

[Spencer]

Don't worry we were still eating those well into January, just hang 'em outside in an onion net. Interestingly, the Morrisons 35p ones kept way better than the Aldi ones.

Snap! Although we were on the Sainsburys 15p ones

 

[2wheels]

Don't worry we were still eating those well into January, just hang 'em outside in an onion net. Interestingly, the Morrisons 35p ones kept way better than the Aldi ones.

don't know about aldi but lidl's fruit never keeps as long as morrisons.

 

[Devil's advocate]

Major tomato shortages as Morocco faces ‘perfect storm’

Flooding, cold temperatures and cancelled ferries have caused significant supply problems in Moroccan tomatoes, according to importers

www.fruitnet.com

Similar article to Bogweevil.

But yes its not Poltics, war, subsidies, brexit just old fashioned crazy weather.

A lot of ordinary market traders & small green grocers will be bankcrupted by this.

ps swedes are cheap.

 

[SteveHudd]

Major tomato shortages as Morocco faces ‘perfect storm’

Flooding, cold temperatures and cancelled ferries have caused significant supply problems in Moroccan tomatoes, according to importers

www.fruitnet.com

Similar article to Bogweevil.

But yes its not Poltics, war, subsidies, brexit just old fashioned crazy weather.

A lot of ordinary market traders & small green grocers will be bankcrupted by this.

ps swedes are cheap.

Haven’t seen much increase in sales either, other veg can’t be expensive enough to push consumers onto swede!

 

[Devil's advocate]

Haven’t seen much increase in sales either, other veg can’t be expensive enough to push consumers onto swede!

Savoy is getting very expensive.

But most uk crop has minor black marks now from frost damage, good on the inside.

What do customers buy UK at 80p or something fresh & shiny for £1.40 from Portugal?

Very middle class food crisis.

 

[Lamb's Orchard]

I know we're in a cost of living crisis and I know it's better for people to eat fruit and veg than processed food, but I find it incredibly frustrating when supermarkets are offering fruit and vegetables at ridiculously low prices which would hardly even cover the cost of packaging. It may be helpful in the short term for struggling families to put food on the table, but it is not educating the public as to the real cost of food production. People applaud Jeremy Clarkson for telling it how it is and saying food should be much more expensive, but then don't want to pay those higher prices. It's all mad. I can't help but think that if housing wasn't so ridiculously expensive there would be more disposable income for good quality food, but equally well, some people don't seem to think good quality food is a priority and are happy to eat cheap rubbish as long as they can have their latest phone/gadget/designer outfit/new car/foreign holiday. Personally I would rather eat well and forgo some of those things, but I think I am in a minority. 🫤

 

[Hindsight]

Savoy is getting very expensive.

But most uk crop has minor black marks now from frost damage, good on the inside.

What do customers buy UK at 80p or something fresh & shiny for £1.40 from Portugal?

Very middle class food crisis.

For you DA. Cauli yesterday near Boston.

 

[teslacoils]

Good as no salad in Morrisons tonight. No cucumbers. No tomstoes or peppers. No large chickens either. Very poor.

 

[teslacoils]

Major tomato shortages as Morocco faces ‘perfect storm’

Flooding, cold temperatures and cancelled ferries have caused significant supply problems in Moroccan tomatoes, according to importers

www.fruitnet.com

Similar article to Bogweevil.

But yes its not Poltics, war, subsidies, brexit just old fashioned crazy weather.

A lot of ordinary market traders & small green grocers will be bankcrupted by this.

ps swedes are cheap.

We eat plenty of swede in winter. Reminded me I need to get my garden dug.

 

[Devil's advocate]

For you DA. Cauli yesterday near Boston.

I presume crop that should have been cut late December to early January & frosted now rotting away?

If I'm wrong & that is over wintered heading broccoli (caulie) things are going to get worse.

I've not done too bad really, finished 10 days ago & yes I've had losses but the price helped. The very last day felt a bit like a truffle hunter going through the worst bit for the last time.

Its the wrong year for it to happen so expensive to grow & most growers planted a bit less.

Better stuff coming through now from Cornwall & Kent, a lot cheaper than French.

 

[Hindsight]

I presume crop that should have been cut late December to early January & frosted now rotting away?

If I'm wrong & that is over wintered heading broccoli (caulie) things are going to get worse.

I've not done too bad really, finished 10 days ago & yes I've had losses but the price helped. The very last day felt a bit like a truffle hunter going through the worst bit for the last time.

Its the wrong year for it to happen so expensive to grow & most growers planted a bit less.

Better stuff coming through now from Cornwall & Kent, a lot cheaper than French.

Hi DA. Yes, that crop was programmed for Xmas/Jan cutting. Their is also damage in overwinter April/May heading crops but not to that extent. 30 years ago Linclonshire cauli ended in November / early December and didn't resume gain until March, for the fear of frost wiping them out. Used to leave the winter cauli job to Cornwall, few sometimes from Thanet and Brittany. But now with larger plants and low populations most growers aim to cut all winter - just that a period of severe frost provides a reminder from the past.

 

[ridger]

That's a big loss

 

[Devil's advocate]

Hi DA. Yes, that crop was programmed for Xmas/Jan cutting. Their is also damage in overwinter April/May heading crops but not to that extent. 30 years ago Linclonshire cauli ended in November / early December and didn't resume gain until March, for the fear of frost wiping them out. Used to leave the winter cauli job to Cornwall, few sometimes from Thanet and Brittany. But now with larger plants and low populations most growers aim to cut all winter - just that a period of severe frost provides a reminder from the past.

To be fair.

It has crossed my mind that what I do is wrong ie aim to cut caulie till Xmas with a possible hang over into January.

Not that I can't do it most of the time, but one year in 5 everthing is ready by early December so miss Xmas & get sold off cheap or rot in the field. Or one year in 10 losses to frost.

It makes a profit on average but I spoil the job for others (not in a big way) who have more reliable geography.

I've not heard of serious problems in the Britanny area of France but certainly growers of high qualty summer types in Spain have lost a lot also Italy. That is unusual.

When I was at school it came from Jersey post Xmas & was unrelliable & very expensive. I now know why the heads were so large.