Fresh Produce Supply Update – 23rd March

Good news at last! The growing conditions across Europe are much improved. This has led to an easing of the supply chain pressures on the products that have been challenging in recent weeks. However, with every silver lining, there is a cloud.

Tomato:

As mentioned in a previous update, the Moroccan Government has followed through on its threats to impose export volume reductions on tomato.

Reductions have been in place for a number of weeks but they have been manageable. This week a 100% ban was imposed on a number of tomato varieties, putting huge stress onto the inbound supply chain to Europe and the UK.

It is our hope, rather than expectation, that once Ramadan starts the export ban will gradually reduce and ease the supply chain pressures.

Onion:

In a normal season, the harvest of yellow/brown onion from the UK/Netherlands will last until the new season crop the following year. Last year’s drought caused a European crop shortage. To satisfy our forecasted demand we have had to source from further afield which has driven the cost up. Once new European crop arrives in July we should start to see a return to normal prices.

Red onion, due to its high sugar content will typically not last a whole year in store from harvest. As such, to maintain supply we program volume to come from Egypt over the next few months. This is why the % movements are not as high on red as they are on yellow/ brown.

Our team is here to support you. Should you have any questions or would like to discuss alternatives on any affected produce, please contact your account manager who will be happy to assist you.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers for their continued support during these challenging times in the fresh produce world.

We will continue to update when we have more information. You can follow us on social media for regular updates too.

In the meantime, please contact our team should you have any questions, to discuss your requirements or to place an order.