The summer season has started with good weather in the fruit and vegetable production sector, and therefore with good news for wholesalers and consumers. First, because they expect to sell 4% more during these months compared to the same period last year. Second, because everything indicates that they will find the product cheaper than in 2023. 4% on average, in addition to cheaper fruits and vegetables.
The new president of the Barcelona and Province Fruit and Vegetable Wholesalers Association (AGEM), Pere Prats, explained yesterday at the Mercaparna facilities that, for example, the production of good stone fruit in the Catalan and main Spanish regions has increased the volume of product available by 10% on average.
“Last year there was a very important frost during the spring and this significant drop in production,” justifies this businessman, who will start his work next July as president of the association after 10 years as vice president. In this way, the volume of peaches has increased by 11%, apricots by 36% and cherries by 46% compared to last year, which is expected to have an impact on the price: specifically, they expect a decrease in apricots and nectarines, and that peaches, grapes and plums will remain stable.
The same thing happens, although more clearly, with watermelons and cantaloupes. “What we have is a normalization of prices compared to last year, when there were problems with the standardization of watermelon and melon flowers,” said Prats in the context, who estimated a 56% reduction in watermelon prices and a 56% reduction in melon prices. Almost 65%. The businessman explained that stone fruit is more popular in Catalonia, but the heat in recent years has caused a rise in demand for watermelons, which are very hydrating fruits.
Vegetables and tomatoes
In total, the business association estimates that it will sell around 60,000 tonnes of fruit per month this summer. To this should be added around 300,000 tonnes of vegetables. This means, in total, 360,000 tonnes of produce over the summer, which represents a 4% increase on last year’s sales volume.
However, in the case of vegetables, the price drop will not be so sharp. “Prices are still practically stable – Prats admitted -. And compared to last year, we have eggplants, onions and ripe tomatoes that maintain their price, and more noticeable drops in the case of cucumbers, red peppers and carrots.”
Tomatoes, which were one of the protagonists of the day at the end of the show with a tasting led by Chef Carme Ruscalida, will, by the way, be one of the stars of the year regardless of the price. According to the data provided by the vice president of AGEM, Lorenzo Carrasco, if a total of 77,640 tons of this product were sold last year, in the first six months of the year alone it is already 53,200 tons. “We will end the year with a significant increase in this product,” he concluded.
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