al week of the year, broccoli production volumes were still far from stable and Murcian exporters had many problems to cover Europe's levels of demand."That demand was important for us because we had been operating about 50% below capacity for three or four weeks," explains David Franco Ruzafa, of the producer and trader Campo de Lorca, in Murcia, Spain.
Shortages between weeks 47 and 51 caused an excessive increase in demand during the Christmas period (weeks 51 and 1); however, the good weather conditions registered already on week 1 foreshadowed a return to the expected production levels during weeks 2, 3 and 4.
So far, this prediction has become a reality and exporters have been able to resume their programs with the usual volumes and great quality broccoli, larger in size than those marketed in December.
"Broccoli are very high in demand at the moment; a lot more than other vegetables, like cauliflower or lettuce," he points out. "And while production volumes have recovered, it is still impossible to cover all demand from importers, distributors and consumers. We are very happy indeed with the response from the market."
Prices are also more stable and are now far from the 3 or 4 Euro per kilo registered in December.
