The strawberry harvest in the province of Huelva, leading European producer of this fruit, has doubled so far this year compared to the previous season; however, consumption has been insufficient to absorb the large volume available.
Up until late last week, more than 10% of the total production expected had been harvested, compared to the 5.3% harvested up to week five of the previous season, according to the latest report of the Prices and Markets Observatory of the Council of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development of Andalusia.
However, the low consumption has caused prices to drop to lower levels than usual for this time of the campaign, oscillating from 1.20 to 1.70 Euro per kilo.
Nevertheless, the sector has optimistic prospects for the month of March, because it is believed that production then will be more in line with demand, which could boost the recovery of prices.
When it comes to destination markets, Germany remains the leading importer of Andalusian strawberries, where Huelva's strawberries compete primarily with imports from Morocco.
So far, orders from Germany have not reached half of their capacity and stand at around 40% of their maximum potential, but throughout the month of February, a substantial increase in consumption is expected, as it already happened in previous years.
Meanwhile, the sector's traders are distributing their strawberries in several European markets, such as the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy.
