A major Polish wholesaler has reported that they have just started loading cucumbers from Spain for the Polish market, however, starting volumes are still small because of the availability of domestic cucumbers.
The domestic season generally runs from the end of February/early March, through to the latter part of October.
An importer working for the company said that they would actually be better off at the moment sourcing from Spain, where the current prices are actually lower than the domestic supply, and supplies are quite large. However, this price situation could easily change once the Polish supply ends for the season.
Cucumber production remains seasonal in Poland because many producers don't see the benefit of switching over to year round production.
"There is only one large producer in Poland who is able to offer cucumbers year round. They recently made some investments into artificial lighting, but this is still on a small scale. More Polish growers could make the switch in the future, but at the moment it is all about price. The growers are faced with import prices which are often cheaper or at the same level as Polish cucumbers, along with larger volumes."
Cucumbers are sourced primarily from Spain, but the importer also looks to the Netherlands to fill any gaps when retail demand increases.
