Cucumbers in Europe have been getting cheaper in recent weeks. Depending on the country you're looking at, this trend started at the end of April (in Italy), or is of a more recent date, like in the Netherlands and Belgium, where the prices collapsed after a revival last week. While the cucumber prices on the European market have started a downward trend, the situation in North America is completely different. In the US, the top of the market yields 20 dollars per box, lower quality yields around 5 dollars per box. In Canada, the market is stable, supply and demand are increasing evenly, for which reason there are no major fluctuations.
FAO figures on cucumber cultivation are available until 2013, but they do give an overview of the distribution of this cultivation across the world. In the category cucumbers and gherkins, the biggest acreage is found in Asia. This part of the world accounts for around 88 percent of the market. Europe and America are second and third, with a share of 7.5 and 2.8 percent.
Europe
Dutch and Belgian prices back to square one
After a revival last week, the prices went down again this week to 17 cents for the 40-size. A cause of the lower prices is the large supply from the Netherlands, but there is also high supply from other countries. German supermarkets are reportedly still offering Spanish cucumbers, and haven't fully switched to Dutch produce yet. In addition, the weather on average hasn't been good enough to boost consumption.
Italian cucumbers a lot cheaper
The Italian cucumber market shows decreasing prices in the past weeks. In Turin, prices for cucumbers in the 14-21 cm category have halved since the end of April. On April 27, the cucumbers still yielded 1.45 Euro, on June 11 the price had gone down to 75 cents. Prices in Rome also went down, but less sharply than in Turin. On average, cucumbers yielded 50 cents in Rome on June 9, while on May 14 the price was still 60 cents. Prices are also under pressure in other cities. In Fondi, prices for cucumbers from the Lazio province went down from 85 cents on April 27 to 50 cents on June 10. The price of Sicilian cucumbers went down from 80 cents to 40 cents. On April 27, local cucumbers from Vittoria yielded 25 cents, on June 11 the price was 20 cents.
Low supply Spain, off-season
In the summer months, the cucumber cultivation in Spain is much smaller than in the winter months. Compared to the winter months, right now around 2 percent of the winter month volumes are available on the market. During the winter months, the Southern European country exports to the Northern European countries, which now have their own production. Small growers in Granada, Almería, Murcia and Valencia. The cucumbers are mainly intended for the domestic market. Relatively small volumes are still being exported.
Polish cucumber season starts
In Poland, the season has just started. A division is made in two varieties: small and open field cucumbers. The bottom of the market is filled with the small cucumbers, which yield around 25 cents per kilo. The open field cucumbers yield between 35 and 50 cents per kilo. These open field cucumbers are mainly intended for the domestic market, the other cucumbers are mostly exported to surrounding countries in Eastern Europe.
North America
While prices in Europe are under pressure, the situation in the United States is different. The volumes are small, causing prices to be higher. The op of the market, cucumbers that are popular with retailers, yield 20 dollars per box. Lower quality cucumbers yield less, that price fluctuates between 5 and 6 dollars per box. The season in Florida ends a week to 10 days earlier than normal. At the moment, Georgia is in production, the state mainly supplies to the East Coast. Smaller volumes are available from North Carolina and South Carolina. In the Western US, California is in production. The market situation is expected to stay good. First of all, supplies are low, and demand is not expected to decrease. Space is also expected to develop between the seasons in Georgia and Michigan. This space would develop in the next two or three weeks.
Price increases in Mexico
Cucumbers in Mexico are yielding more for export to major markets, particularly the southern states of the US. On June 1, prices for a box of 22 kilos were 80 Mexican pesos (5.19 dollars). A day later, the price had increased by 20 Mexican pesos to 6.49 dollars. The price increase continued, however, with the cucumbers yielding 120 Mexican pesos (7.80 dollars) on June 10.
Canada stable market
In Canada, the market has been rather stable for five years now. Because of predictable price developments, the greenhouse growers are able to regulate supplies with extreme oversupply. Higher supplies in the summer months do cause a dip in prices. Production in British Columbia, the Surrey region and Alberta's Medicine Hat has been expanded. Consumption of greenhouse cucumbers has increased in recent years, partly because of health trends, and this increase will continue. The sector also keeps evolving in terms of cultivation, introducing new varieties to the market. Five years ago, the mini cucumbers didn't exist yet. Now these cucumbers are popular. The past 12 months, demand for and supply of the cocktail cucumber, an even smaller variety than the mini cucumber, has increased.
