Stock of Spanish satsumas at UK supermarkets has been significantly cut this season because of poor weather conditions, according to reports.
Fresh produce industry news site, freshinfo.com, has revealed that availability of the popular fruit has been reduced to just 60 per cent of last season’s volumes due to the heavy rain in September which caused major problems for Spanish growers.
While much of there crop was washed away, the ones that did survive the rainy weather have grown to a size that according to freshinfo is “outside the usual specifications for the UK market”.
A British importer told the website: “The cost price for our size profile is very inflated. On top of that the crop is about seven to 10 days late and this is putting massive pressure on a very short market.”
” Retailers are intent on pricing for a market that is in recession and with weak sterling we are really struggling to get the prices we need – we just can’t procure for the prices the supermarkets are selling at.”
“It is a massive problem and basically a big fight out there to get the fruit we need. We are all feeling very squeezed.”
