Crop Report

We are forecasting that the Southern Hemisphere season will come to an end around three weeks earlier than expected. This is due to the impact of flooding across South Africa in May and June, which caused significant damage and loss of fruit.

While our growers have managed to avoid the worst of the weather, there are still likely to be significant quality and availability challenges from mid-September, as we transition to Spain. The biggest concern is on large lines, where size concessions are already in place to support availability. We expect further concessions to be required as we get closer to the end of the season.

We are monitoring the upcoming Spanish season closely as this also looks like it will be a difficult season.

There are market-wide shortages of cauliflower, with very limited stocks available.This is caused by the warm weather speeding up the growth of the crop, meaning that it was harvested before the next fields were ready to be harvested, creating a gap between the fields.

There is very little additional volume available, with growers across Europe facing similar problems and we expect it to be very challenging for the next fortnight until new fields are ready to be harvested.

In the meantime, we have added a concession for pests, as the dry weather means it is more difficult to wash them away completely.

The British crop is continuing to recover after July’s heatwave, with some areas of the country faring better than others. However, we are expecting some further problems towards the end of August as the crop that was planted during the heatwave becomes ready to harvest.

Growers are hoping that the sporadic rain will help to protect the crop from further damage, but it is likely to be a difficult period with the potential for some further market shortages. We are currently supporting the British crop with produce from Kenya to ensure availability can be maintained.

Market supply of broccoli continues to be affected by problems caused by the high temperatures. The main issue is around weight, while availability also continues to be extremely tight. We have a close watching brief on the crop over the next couple of weeks.

Unfortunately, this seasonal favourite has come to an end for another year. We look forward to bringing you more of this chef’s favourite next year.

The situation with washed rocket is improving, as imported product arrives to support British produce. While this has led to better quality, the dry weather is creating other problems, particularly around pests with no water to wash them away.

A reminder that our popular nectarine and peach lines will finish a little earlier this year due to the extremely hot weather in Italy and Spain. It is currently forecast to finish at the end of August.

There have been some short-term quality problems with the end of season French shallots.

We are expecting new season produce from our specialist British grower from next week, which should end any issues.

We are now well into early season Egyptian sweet potatoes. This should mean that there are no further availability issues.

The early season tubers are, however, relatively small, so a size concession remains in place while the crop fully establishes itself.