On the field side, March 2022

Northern vegetables

The carrot campaign ended at the beginning of February. The yields were good for the production of cubed carrots and correct for round carrots.

For leeks, the harvest has also been completed and went well. We are waiting for some spring leek production.

The same applies to celery and turnips, whose harvests are ending with good yields.

The parsnip campaign will be carried out in the coming weeks.

Southern vegetables

With the drought in Spain, farmers have planted fewer peppers. Quantities are therefore limited, especially for red peppers. Added to this is a fresh market that is pulling on quantities. We will have to wait until spring for possible changes.

Zucchini is also affected by the decrease in cultivated areas, so harvests are smaller despite an increasing demand.

In Egypt, the weather is affecting the Artichoke crop. The cold and rainy weather caused a one-month delay in the season and reduced the yield by 50% compared to the previous year. The same applies to beans, for which quantities are limited.

Fruits

The Maltese orange campaign in Spain is going well both in terms of quality and quantity.

The lemon season continues, with good yields

Onion & Ginger

The spring onion crop in China is, like many vegetables, impacted by unseasonable weather.
The 2021 autumn crop is smaller, due to too much rain.

For ginger harvests, the conditions are the same but the quantities are larger than for spring onions.

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Challenges for the Northern vegetable sector

In general, the vegetable market is facing many difficulties.
Both the unusual weather over the last few months and the increase in costs linked to transport and energy.
Another difficulty is to find the farmers and the hectares needed for factory production, especially for courgettes and cauliflower.

Negotiations on crop contracts for the 2022-2023 harvests are underway and remain rather complicated in view of cost increases on the one hand, but also in view of competition for agricultural land with other crops that are more remunerative than vegetables (cereals, potatoes, etc.).

Price increases are expected for new contracts both to support the agricultural sector and in view of the production cost increases experienced by our factory.
Our sales team will inform you of the impact of this situation on the products concerned.

Additional information