The dry weather and high temperatures that are being recorded in central and northern Europe since the month of May are causing major issues in the production of crops like lettuce and other leafy vegetables. Large distribution chains in these countries are trying to get their supply wherever they can and have also been calling at the doors of Spanish growers, who don't usually schedule the production of their crops for these dates. The demand is high and the supply limited in countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland. The prices of Iceberg lettuce for the processing industry stand at around 1 Euro per kilo.
"Productions in northern Europe and the United Kingdom arrived earlier due to the high temperatures and now there are gaps that make it difficult to guarantee continuity in the supply," says Ginés Navarro, of the Murcian company Agridemur, specialist in the production and distribution of salads. "Many of the companies we work with in the winter are demanding products from us, especially spinach in the United Kingdom," he adds.
Ginés Navarro explains that the period with the highest production of leafy vegetables in the main Spanish growing areas is October to May.
"We continue growing lettuce throughout the summer thanks to the fact that we have infrastructures in higher areas and with milder temperatures, but just like most other producers of leafy vegetables in Murcia, our productions are mostly scheduled based on contracts, both in winter and in summer. It is true that there are producers that grow for the free market in winter, but in summer, practically everything is intended for the domestic market and is already programmed. That is why there is little we can do," he says.