Weather Issues Worldwide Likely to Impact the Growing of Herbs in Several Regions, Resulting in Difficult Supply Conditions.
Spain continues to see heavy rain, strong winds and even cases of significant snowfall which is likely to continue for the coming week. The forecast for Spain as well as the UK suggests heavy rain in the coming days which could lead to quality issues. These issues may include tip burn, yellowing and also a decrease in estimated shelf life.
Despite the intensity of the winds in Spain, harvest for week five orders will still be going ahead although challenges are to be expected. As a result of the weather in Spain, transport has also been severely affected. Trucks are being delayed which could potentially have an affect on arrivals planned for this week and possibly for as long as next week.
Elsewhere, Italy and Portugal have seen low temperatures at night time which could potentially lead to some issues in quality. Morocco has experienced rain and temperatures in the mid-twenties which is very low for the region. Germany has seen a lot of rain which will continue into next week and will be followed by very low temperatures. Despite these issues, growers are continuing to send all they can but consider that quality may deteriorate during transit.
Israel and Ethiopia have seen unprecedented weather conditions for this time of year. Israel has seen non-stop rains carried by severe floods and extremely cold nights. Ethiopia is experiencing good humidity which is helping crops such as Chives but temperatures drop down to 0°c at night which is likely to have an affect on quality of produce.
The main products with issues will be with Coriander, Flat Leaf and Mint, Marjoram, Tarragon, Chervil, Sage & Samphire.