“The lack of water and the reduction in surface area will condition the season for field vegetables”

Field vegetables are starting their season in the Region of Murcia as harvests of summer crops in the rest of Europe are nearing completion. “Right now, broccoli has started in the higher areas of Murcia and so has lettuce,” says Jorge Sánchez of Bull Fresh from Murcia.

“This year we can see that the campaigns for these field products are going to experience some difficulties, for two main reasons: the first is the lack of water, a problem that we have had for some time, but that we now fully in control. In addition, the lack of optimal management of desalination plants generates a very strong increase in the price of water for irrigation, which, added to the reduction of water from the Tagus-Segura diversion, causes a certain lack of confidence when planting and there are farmers who even consider not carrying out certain plantations during the season. »

“On the other hand, the Mar Menor law has led to the loss of a very large number of hectares of irrigated land in the lower area of ​​Campo de Cartagena and it is very difficult to find sites with the same temperature conditions during months like December and January and can replace this lost surface. This has already led to a reduction in the planting of certain products, mainly broccoli. »

“In the summer, broccoli is normally produced in the higher areas and even in the north, but currently we are concerned about the production of broccoli in the middle of winter, because we do not know if we will really have enough broccoli. This problem of the open-field vegetable season in Murcia was also a topical subject a fortnight ago during the Fruit Attraction because there are fears of a significant drop in a few months. »

As far as these first volumes are concerned, they are currently not under any pressure on the market, either in terms of production or demand, because the supply is limited and there are still a few weeks left before the end of planting in central European countries. But, “the quality problems of lettuce crops in Central Europe have meant that countries like Italy, an interesting customer for Spain, have already started to look for Spanish products”, reveals Jorge Sánchez. “Although in general we expect lettuce to enter the usual schedules from next week and broccoli to do so in week 45-46. »

Regarding prices, the outlook is good and it is expected that they will be quite attractive, precisely because of the expected reduction in production and the caution with which farmers are planting. “There has not been a speculative amount of product that could generate a large surplus, mainly due to uncertainty over water availability. »

“But keep in mind that production costs are brutal this year. Broccoli, in particular, is a vegetable that requires a lot of electricity, from turning and packaging to storage, which is done at 1°C, which makes the final product very expensive, as are the costs of harvest and materials, which have been increasing for a year. »

In mid-November, the Murcian cabbage season will begin.
Bull Fresh is a company from Murcia that works with field vegetable growers in the region as well as growers in Almeria, from where it supplies a wide range of vegetables and fruit to its customers in Europe, Scandinavia, the Baltics, the UK and the Middle East.

Among the main Murcian products of this company, which is in its fourth year of existence and which is part of the SUBASUR group of companies, in addition to broccoli and lettuce, there is also cabbage, the season of which will begin in 3-4 weeks, foresees Jorge Sánchez.

“As with broccoli and lettuce, we expect the cabbage season, which will start in mid-November, to be quite good. Together with Italy, when the season starts, Spain will be alone in the European cabbage market. »

For more information :
Bull fresh sl
Paseo de Isaac Peral, 19
30880 Aguilas, Murcia
Such. : +34 629 00 73 21
jsanchez@bullfresh.es
https://bullfresh.negocio.site