November Market Report

The nights are closing in and the temperatures are dropping, winter is just around the corner. That said it is a great time for fresh produce with some old favourites coming back into season as we transition from predominantly UK Dutch crops onto mainly southern European.

SALAD

Products such as cucumber, peppers, tomato and majority of large and baby leaf lettuce have now switched over form Dutch and UK growers onto our Spanish and Italian growers. We will monitor closely the quality of product as we settle into the season to ensure that we see minimal disruption throughout the transition period. Spanish rocket currently is experiencing problems with high water content in the leaf which is causing quality issues once bagged, we have discussed with our suppliers and are currently switching to Italian until the situation improves.

FRUIT

As you would expect looking at the weather outside, it is not growing weather for berries. Majority of berries are now either glasshouse Dutch or Spanish, Strawberries are especially tight at the moment until we see the introduction of North African crop towards the end of November, early December. As a result we expect prices to be strong. On a brighter note, we have seen the introduction of some fantastic quince pear.

VEG

We have saved the best news to last, as this is a great time of year to once again introduce some old favourites. We have some fabulous local beetroots, golden, candy and red all readily available, local green kale is arriving daily from J.Mutton approx 6 miles from our depot and the quality is amazing with a price to match. Jerusalem artichokes, parsley root and chervil root are all now readily available and as you would expect at this time of year the quality is second to none. Great range of squash and pumpkins still available and we have already seen the first arrival of fresh chestnuts. Fresh truffles are now available, we are bring back to order so make sure you speak to your account manager for details. Great selcetion of wild mushrooms on stock at the moment, chanterelle, girolle and black trompette are readily available. However in the world of button/cup/flat mushrooms etc things are extremely difficult, extremely high energy bills and tighter than usual availability is driving up the price. At the moment we don’t see any change in this situation and expect it to run on into the New Year and possibly longer.

DAIRY

You may have seen recently in the media the challenges faced by farmers in the UK egg market. Not only are they battling significant price increases in feed and energy as a consequence of the conflict in Ukraine, they are also battling Avian Influenza. This battle is resulting in a significant reduction in the laying flock. Availability is beginning to tighten throughout all sectors of the market as farmer’s battle this outbreak. DEFRA have also recently announced a housing order which means all birds are now forced indoors, this may impact on the term free range depending on how long they have to be housed. We are working closely with our supply chain and are confident in the information that we have been provided with regards to the continuity of supply. We will keep you updated by all means if any updates are provided regarding changes in supply or the term free range.