Storm Filomena Price Rises
13th January 2021
Storm Filomena has covered much of Spain in deep snow, with the inland night- time temperature falling well below freezing. The provinces of Almería and Granada has seen and will continue to see a significant fall in production of tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, aubergines, and peppers due to a reduction in yields; there may well be irreparable damage to fruit and vegetable crops as the cold snap continues.
There have been unprecedented price rises on the product lines listed here. It is our initial belief that these increases are not sustainable to our supply partners, or our clients and with this in mind, we would recommend that these products be removed from your Approved Price List in the short term and to discuss an alternative product option with your Account Manager and the Sales Order Team here at idc.
Please be aware that supply of these products cannot be guaranteed, even at the increased prices, as we are informed that availability is virtually zero and is likely to be so for some time. There are alternatives is some areas, and we would recommend that these options be discussed and reviewed accordingly.
This is likely to be a short-term change, as soon as we can review and manage accordingly, we will of course notify you immediately.
Product Lines Affected
Round tomato
Beef tomato
Cherry tomato
Plum tomato
Vine tomato
Cherry vine tomato
Aubergine
Courgette
Peppers
Iceberg lettuce
Little gem lettuce
Cos/romaine lettuce
Celery
Spanish Weather
Almerian producer association Coexphal said farmers are unable to harvest their crops and there is not enough volume entering warehouses to allow them to fulfil all their orders.
January is one of the peak months for Spanish fruit and vegetable production, with exports reaching up to 1.3m tonnes; Coexphal said the intense cold has paralysed plant and fruit growth and could cause irreparable damage as the cold snap continues.
Elsewhere, early indications suggest that damage to production in coastal areas has so far been localised.
In Valencia, the Unió de Llauradors union said the snow has been beneficial for most crops as it has helped replenish water reserves, cleaned fruit trees against possible pests and helped indoor crops accumulate the necessary chill hours.
Another union’s AVA-Asaja, said the storm has caused isolated damages in seasonal vegetables such as artichokes, broad beans, cabbages, and lettuces, as well as in some late varieties of oranges and mandarins.
With the cold snap expected to last until Thursday, it is feared that shortages in some vegetables will become more acute in the coming weeks and prices will rise as a result. Seasonal vegetables such as artichokes, broad beans, cabbages, and lettuces, as well as in some late varieties of oranges and mandarins are also affected.