Crop Report

Harvesting is continuing, with early indications that salad/mid potatoes and larger bakers, which have been affected by a reduced growing period following weather-related delays and lower plantings, will be an issue this season.

It is likely to be a couple of months before we see the true picture of this season’s harvest, once the crop has been lifted.

Our prep supplier suffered a mechanical issue last week, which caused some challenges, although we were able to work with them to minimise the impact on customers. They are adding additional equipment to boost capacity in the coming weeks.

Following the recent problems with Lamb’s lettuce, quality remains an issue. However, it should continue to improve, hopefully returning to normal next week.

Radicchio also continues to suffer with quality issues. We are working with suppliers to keep stock levels as low as possible, so that it is held for less time in depot, which will hopefully minimise rejections and allow us to maintain better quality and availability. 

There have been some quality concerns with new season white cabbage, where there has been some increased oxidation on the outside of the product. We are working with suppliers to address this.

Red cabbage is also seeing some problems with lower yields leading to availability challenges. We are working with suppliers to try to identify additional volumes to ensure that the problems do not extend through the season.

There have been some issues with tomatoes falling off the vines due to the hot Spanish weather. This has meant that the vines become quite brittle, with a significant proportion then dropping off. In order to minimise the problem, we are increasing supply from Holland to cover. 

The compost failure we reported last week at one of our mushroom suppliers last week is more extensive than at first thought. This is being exacerbated by similar issues at a second supplier. We are continuing to rebalance supply to ensure that we minimise any impact on customers.

We are also introducing a concession to allow the supply of Portobello mushrooms in place of flat mushrooms to further mitigate any issues. 

We are now well into the transition from Spain to Brazil.

With the early end to the Spanish season, there are some challenges to supply, but we are not expecting any shortages. However, there may need to be some further concessions for watermelons while the season gets into full swing.

There have been some challenges with the crop, with tall weeds affecting the efficiency of mechanical harvesting. However, we have been working with our suppliers to source additional, pre-graded stock from Holland to cover any shortages.

Peaches have now finished for the Spanish season, and we have received our final delivery of nectarines, which are also expected to end shortly.

We are seeing some isolated instances of insect damage. We are therefore working with suppliers to move stock around to ensure that we manage supply and continue to monitor the situation closely.