Strike action continues to affect the Almeria and Murcia regions in Southern Spain, impacting fresh produce supply. This is not only restricting supply from Spain to the UK but also preventing farmers from getting products to the packhouses.
The products impacted most are tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, courgettes, herbs, lettuce, tender stem broccoli, strawberries, and lemons.
We do not anticipate any significant improvements in Spain until next week at the earliest.
Heavy rainfall in the region is further compounding the challenges, with flooding preventing suppliers from harvesting whole head lettuce in Murcia.
Rainfall is forecast to continue into next week.
Tomato supply remains challenging with plum and yellow cherry varieties particularly short.
Moroccan export restrictions are still in place, albeit some very limited supply is getting through.
The reason for this is a national sanction on exports in Morocco in a bid to reduce the value of the domestic market as we approach Ramadan.
The export ban is being lifted on Monday 28th so we expect another 10 days of pain before things start to ease week commencing 4th April.
Despite low volumes of Dutch peppers becoming available as the very early season crop begins, pepper shortages are increasing.
We are in regular contact with all Full Range UK suppliers and will continue to communicate updates as and when available.
