Crop Report

We are pleased to report that, despite causing significant problems across the country, Storm Darragh has had limited impact on our supply of brassica.

While some growers have reported challenges with getting machinery into waterlogged fields, we are managing availability well and do not have any major concerns because of the storms.

Last week’s market-wide problems that were caused by Egyptian produce not being ready to replace Peruvian, which had reached the end of its season, have receded. 

Egyptian deliveries are back on track and Kenya is recovering from the storms that impacted the quality of produce from that region.

We are not expecting any further problems, but the market remains very tight, so we have a close watching brief on supplies.

There are currently no major availability issues with potatoes and, depending on market conditions, we do not expect any significant problems for at least a few months. 

The two main types that are currently expected to be a challenge later in the season are salad potatoes, due to the lack of carryover stock creating shortages, and large bakers, due to the limited growing time. 

In the meantime, we are working on contingency plans, which could include extending origins or suppliers, and we will keep customers updated as the season progresses.

We are continuing to monitor the quality of some prepped potatoes and have additional checks in place to try to minimise any impact 
on customers.

The quality of the Kenyan crop that was planned to cover the gap between the Peruvian and Egyptian harvests continues to suffer from heavy spotting.

We have been working hard with suppliers and managed to extend the Peruvian harvest, but with the challenges to the Kenyan crop and Egyptian product still another week or so away, there are likely to be market-wide availability issues until the arrival of the new harvest.

The situation with grapes, caused by the poor South American harvest, continues to be very challenging.

While we are expecting some improvement in green gapes before the end of the year as we will see the arrival of early season South African grapes, the market for red grapes, which are harvested later, will remain very challenging and is unlikely to ease until next year.

With more Moroccan fruit now arriving, the supply situation has eased significantly.

We are not expecting any further availability issues.