crop report 13 march 2020...fluctuating temperatures, high humidity remains challenging. plant cells...

Crop Report 13th March 2020

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Category Product Variety Origin Status Highlighted Concerns/Updates

Glasshouse

Tomatoes VariousSpain

MoroccoCanary Isles

AmberQuality continues to be good with no major issues seen this week, with Canary fruit aiding availability. Hopefully availability will continue to be OK.

Baby Plum & Cherry Various Spain Amber

Availability is slowly improving but still seeing some backward / splitting yellow plum / cherry. This can happen during transit due to high brix and colder weather. This can also initiate the growth of mould. Whilst weather is better, availabilities likely to be difficult for at least another couple of weeks, as we move to new plantings.

Peppers Spain Amber

Availabilities remain tight, especially on yellow fruit. Risk of backward fruit high (green shoulders) due to availability and to try and aid shelf life. If the yellow fruit colour up too much they become orange. Whilst weather is better, availabilities likely to be difficult for at least another couple of weeks. Dutch fruit is slowly coming on stream.

CucumberSpain

Canary IslesAmber

Spanish fruit is quickly coming to an end, but Canary fruit is aiding availability. Some soft ends being seen. Spanish crops should come back on stream for week 12. Dutch and UK fruit is slowly coming on stream.

Chillies Spain Green No reported quality or supply issues.

Lettuce and Leaves

Iceberg Spain Amber

Availability remains strong and this means we are seeing denser crop – this can impact shelf life / increase pinking and breakdown risk. However, some lightweights also being seen mixed in. Outlook continues to look good but risk of a gap due to high temperatures leading to quicker growth cycles. Could be challenging until the end of the season.

Little Gem Spain Green Tipping could occur but good quality currently. Nothing major being flagged.

Romaine Spain Amber

Harvest teams continue to strip much of the heads back to remove the worst of the tipping from winds several weeks ago, however this is leading to underweights and some tipping remains. Bolting is also being seen after weather variances. Leaf quality should continue to improve but monitor tipping / bolt.

Batavia Spain Amber Leaf quality OK this week with no major issues. Monitor leaf quality closely

Lollo Biondi / Rosso Spain Green Continued good quality / availability. An improving picture expected.

EndiveSpain

FranceGreen

Crop quality generally good but bolting / tipping being seen due to weather stresses. Tipping risk likely to continue as temperatures increase. Quality / availability may be challenging until the end of the week.

Rocket Italy AmberGood quality continues but as number of cuts increases, we are seeing some quality issues. No major issues being reported.

Red Chard Italy Green No issues with good availability / quality being seen.

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Lettuce & Leaves

Pak Choi Spain Green No reported quality or availability issues.

Chinese Leaf Portugal GreenGood quality crop and availability, Low levels of internal tip burn but increasing cut tests at point of harvest and on UK intake.

Bull’s Blood Italy Amber Quality and availability may be affected due to adverse weather conditions

Baby Leaf Kale Italy AmberSome yellowing being seen out of Italy which impacted short-term availability. Quality could alter quickly but hoping to improve with weather.

Radicchio Italy Green Crop from Italy performing well currently.

Round Lettuce UK Green Spring crop. No reported quality or supply issues.

Choi Sum Spain Green No reported quality or availability issues.

WatercressUK

SpainGreen No quality or supply issues expected.

Spinach

PlatypusEl Prado

Italy

GreenThere are low levels of lime green leaves seen in the raw material. This is due to compaction in the fields caused by heavy rains. This is being graded out during the processing operations.

HoustonPlatypus

BandicootSpain

Lambs Lettuce France AmberBreakdown in field continues to impact availability (caused by wet weather at sowing). This means some crop is having to be destroyed, impacting on availability. Challenges likely to continue in the short-term.

Corn Salad Italy Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Tatsoi Italy Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Mizuna Italy Green No quality or supply issues expected.


Exotic Vegetables

AsparagusPeru

MexicoGreen No quality or supply issues expected.

Beans XF, T&TKenyaEgypt

Amber Light skin markings present.

MangetoutGuatemala

EgyptGreen No quality or supply issues expected.

Sugar snapGuatemala

EgyptGreen No quality or supply issues expected.

Ginger China Red Limited availability due to delayed shipments.

Okra India Green Some slight dehydration. No supply issues expected.

Galangal Thailand Green No quality or supply issues expected

Baby Carrots South Africa Green No quality or supply issues expected

Baby Corn Thailand Green No quality or supply issues expected

Baby Courgettes Kenya Green No quality or supply issues expected

Baby Fennel South Africa Green No quality or supply issues expected

Baby Leeks South Africa Red Very limited availability as poor weather has ruined crops.

Green / Yellow Patti-Pan

South Africa Red Green - Very limited availability as poor weather has ruined crops.

Baby Turnip South Africa Amber Poor weather in S.Africa has ruined the crops


Vegetables

Savoy Various UK AmberHeavy rainfall and cold temperatures affecting growth. Savoy not achieving weight requirements. Deviation ends on 31/03/2020 for 350g min on 5kg and 450g on x8.

Cauliflower Spain AmberDue to the latest winds and hot weather in VALENCIA there us a gap of 2 to 3 weeks without volumes. Other regions in Spain have also suffered from the same situation. Quality is OK but volumes are restricted.

Purple Sprouting Broccoli

UK Amber Still very limited, though small volumes starting to come through.

Broccoli Spain Green No quality or availability expected.

Spring GreensWinter

SupremeUK Amber Some black spotting (fungal) and damage to leaves - weather related

Red & White Chicory UK Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Butternut Ariel Portugal Amber Quality good, but short availability of size 800-1200g

Leeks Various Belgium Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Kale UK AmberSome minor yellowing to the edge of the leaves due to the excess water in the fields.

Cabbage Red & White UK GreenQuality continues to be good. Quality should continue to be good but heavy rainfall delaying planting and flooding some crops is likely to have an impact on availability later in the year, especially on white.

Pointed CabbageBelengaTeama

Portugal Amber Good quality but availability for the size in the 14 EA tightening up

Root Vegetables

Beetroot (raw) UK GreenNo quality issues expected. Lifting conditions continue to be difficult, however availability of crop from programmed grower has returned to normal.

Beetroot Candy UK GreenConditions continue to be challenging, however availability of crop from programmed grower has returned to normal.

Beetroot Golden UK GreenConditions continue to be challenging, however availability of crop from programmed grower has returned to normal.

Parsnip

JavelinPicadorPalace

UK GreenQuality remains acceptable and final graded product looks good. Wet fields are drying but slowly. There is still a lot of soil in harvested loads but again, this is obviously removed prior to packing.

Picolo UK Amber No reported quality issues, but season ending in next couple of weeks

CarrotNairobiEskimo

UK GreenQuality remains good but monitor as some un-strawed crop remains. Nothing major expected but wet weather making harvesting challenging.

Carrot Chantenay UK Green No issues expected. Continuing on UK. Mixture of green top and straw.

Celeriac Prinz UK Green No quality or supply issues expected.


Potato Potatoes Various UK Amber

Normally at this time of the year / season there is not much to report. The potatoes would have been harvested in good (relatively dry) conditions and would be in store, holding up well but this year this is very different, • There is still a proportion of the potato crop in the ground, unharvested.

These will be either written-off or ploughed in or some growers may try to ‘overwinter’ and harvest next spring.

• Potatoes that are over-wintered will carry a high risk of breakdown / rotting once harvested and this year there is the added factor of crops sitting in water due to the saturated soil. There is so much water in the soil now that the slightest of showers produces puddling on the surface that persists for days / weeks.

• Even crops that have been harvested later in the season this year are exhibiting rotting and heavy soil adhesion.

• There are a number of reports of large stores of late harvested potatoes rotting (‘going down’) and being written-off due to the unsuitable conditions when they went into store (i.e. wet, muddy and cold).

• The skin finish of some batches of stored crops has already started to dull and show patches of Black Dot (skin blemish). Normally this would not become apparent until much later in the storage period.

• With wet weather forecast, some growers are becoming nervous about field conditions for planting.

Most skin blemishes ‘defects’ are fungal based (which are harmless) and wet stored crops will provide ideal conditions for the growth and spread of these blemishes. Potatoes stored prior to the wet conditions are holding up well, but overall quality is likely to be at a lower level than recent years as we move further into the storage period.

Onions

Red & WhiteUK

NetherlandsGreen

Quality continues to be good but risk later in the season from crop harvested after the rain. Monitor long term quality closely.

Spring Egypt Amber

Egyptian is becoming much tighter and it’s predicted that the season will finish earlier than normal (possibly by end of March). This has been caused by the very cold weather spell in Egypt earlier in the year. We could see some supply issues during March.


Soft Fruit

StrawberriesRociera

San AndreasAVA Leyre

MoroccoSpain

AmberWhite shoulders, rots under the calyx and dry bruising - no risks being taken on the line and full focus on quality. White shoulder in Spain is the main issue but brix is OK.

Raspberries

Enrosadira Adelita

VersaillesTulameen

Spain Amber

Fluctuating temperatures, high humidity remains challenging. Plant cells will continue to absorb this water vapour which may lead to softer berries but it also increases the risk of plant diseases such as fungal infections as fungal spores require humidity to germinate on plant surfaces which can manifest during transportation and shelf life.

Redcurrants Rovada Netherlands Green No quality or supply issues.

BlackberriesTupi

Ark45Kiowa

Guatemala Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Blueberries

VenturaEmeraldSuzi Blue

StarDuke

Legacy

Chile Green No quality or supply issues expected.

VenturaBiloxi

EmeraldBlanca

Peru Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Exotic Fruit

Kiwi Hayward Italy Green No quality or supply issues expected.Mango Kent Peru Green Good supply and only minor, isolated quality issues noted.Papaya Brazil Green No quality or supply issues.

Green Papaya Thailand Green No quality or supply issues.

Passion Fruit Kenya Green No quality or supply issues.Pitahaya Thailand Green No quality or supply issues.

Figs Brazil Green No quality or supply issues.

Grapes

WhiteThompson

SonakaIndia Green

Good quality, odd low sugar, slight acidic eating quality. Some straw coloured bunches.

Black Melody South Africa AmberGood quality, odd water berry causing some free juice. Some variable sizing. May see some shelf life issue due to rain in the growing region.

RedAllison

CrimsonKrissy

South Africa AmberPossible shelf life issues as there has been some rain in the Hex river region.


Avocado AvocadoHass

Colombia GreenVessel arrived today and containers now due to be received this week. Isolated stem end rot being monitored during grading.

Dom Rep GreenNo supply issues expected. Some scarring identified but fruit ripening well.

Mexico GreenNo supply issues expected. Isolated stem end rot being monitored during grading.

Israel AmberAdditional intake checks being carried out due to recent delays of containers to monitor quality. Internal grey issues continually monitored, and expected to increase due to delays.

Spain AmberNo supply issues expected. Quality issues monitored during both intake and ripening due to difficult harvest period.

Peru Green Week 12. No supply or quality issues expected.

RSA Green Week 14. no supply or quality issues expected.

Mozambique Green Week 12 (TBC). No supply or quality issues expected.

Fuerte Spain AmberNo supply issues expected. Quality issues monitored during both intake and ripening due to difficult harvest period.

Melon

Galia 3228 Brazil AmberIncreased levels or pepper spotting also occasional rot and mould. Additional selection required. Some heavy rains at source. Monitoring quality closely.

Galia Cabral Honduras Amber Isolated rot noted. Heavier grading in place.

CantaloupeCaribbean Brazil Green Some heavy rains at source, but no reported issues.

CaribbeanKapaz

Honduras Green No reported quality or supply issues.

Watermelon

Durlinda Quetzali

Brazil Green Some heavy rains at source, but no reported issues.

QuetzaliJoya

Costa Rica Amber Some variability of internal flesh quality. Some stem mould.

Honeydew

Goldex Gavio

Brazil Green Some heavy rains at source, but no reported issues.

Natal Costa Rica AmberSome necrotic spot noted, monitoring closely and re-selecting where necessary.


Citrus

Lemon Primofiori Spain AmberHigh temperatures last week. Concerns on soft fruit due to rapid growth and dehydration. Extra vigilance on the grading lines.

OrangeValencia Egypt Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Navel / Baladi Egypt Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Red / White Grapefruit

Star RubyMarsh

CyprusTurkey

Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Easy Peeler

Ortanique Spain Green

No major concerns around quality. Some browning and pick damage noted at source but this is being removed at the packing stage. The rind is leathery and initially difficult to remove however, despite this the pulp is tender with a high juice content.

Nadorcott Spain Green

A high sugar content balanced out with a good acid ratio gives it a very good flavour. Peels easily. Skin colour is a deep orange and fruit looks bright and fresh overall. Some fruits will have a green tinge which is characteristic of the fruit. Skin is slightly uneven with a pebbly rind.

LimesPersianTahiti

BrazilMexico

Green No reported quality or supply issues.

Top FruitApple

BraeburnItaly Amber

Pressure values will need to be checked prior to supply. Availability will be influenced by quality.

UK GreenOverall quality ok, though pale colour noted. Availability will be influenced by quality.

Pink Lady France Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Red DeliciousItaly Green No quality or supply issues expected.

France Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Granny SmithItaly Green No quality or supply issues expected.

France Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Golden Delicious

Italy Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Pear Rocha Portugal Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Banana & Pineapples

Pineapple MD2 Costa Rica Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Banana CavendishGuatemala Green Quality all fine, issues with shipping could effect supply.

Costa Rica Green Improvements in production with volumes increasing. Good availability


Herbs

Potted Curley / Flat Parsley

UK Amber Some aphids noted within the crops. No availability issues.

Potted Thyme UK Amber A little small in height due to a lack of light / time of year low temps.

Potted Mint UK Amber Some aphids noted within the crops. No availability issues.

Potted RosemaryUK

BelgiumPortugal

AmberA little small in height, lack of light time of year low temps etc. Small amount of pest damage, some leaf curl

Potted Coriander UK AmberSome minor black leaves due to humidity. Shorter stem lengths due to slow growth / reduction in CO2 in the glasshouse.

Potted Parsley UK Amber Some aphid activity noted within the crop.

Potted Basil UK Amber Minor thrip damage.

BasilMaggieAroma

UK SpainKenya

RedSpain – high humidity at source affecting quality and storability. UK - crop is slow in growth and Sussex have some quality issues.

Asian Basil Kenya Green No reported quality or supply issues.

TarragonEthiopiaKenya

Red Minimal supply due to grower shortages due to quality & weather impacts

Flat ParsleyItaly

MoroccoSpain

Green No reported issues with quality, but limited availability due to weather conditions.

Curley Parsley Spain Green No reported quality or supply issues.

Dill Kenya Amber Heavy rains and cooler weather affecting quality and picking plans.

Coriander

KenyaSpain

MoroccoItaly

GreenWet & cold weather conditions in Spain have seen some quality issues as a result. Managing this with the growers.

Mint TipsKenyaSpain

Green No quality or supply issues expected.

MintMorocco

SpainGreen No reported quality or supply issues

Sage Italy Green No reported quality or supply issuesRosemary Italy Green No reported quality or supply issues

Sorrel Ethiopia Green No quality or supply issues expected.


Cress & Shoots

Blue Oyster Flowers UK Red Not available, season June to October

Cucumber Flowers UK Red Not available, season May to September

Corn Flowers UK Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Edible Rose Petals UK Red Out of season until May.

Oyster Leaves UK Red Winter crop has slowed up , will review again next week.

SamphireIsrael

MoroccoGreen No quality or supply issues expected.

Sea Aster UK Green No quality or supply issues expected.Cress Affilla UK Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Cress Daikon UK Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Cress MustardRape Seed 95%, Cress

seed 5%UK Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Cress Shiso Red UK Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Cress Tahoon UK Green No quality or supply issues expected.Growing Tenderill Pea UK Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Mixed Sakura Cress UK Green No quality or supply issues expected.Peashoots UK Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Thai Basil Cress UK Green No quality or supply issues expected.Basil Cress UK Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Basil Lemon Cress UK Green No quality or supply issues expected.Coriander Cress UK Green No quality or supply issues expected.Tagette Cress UK Green No quality or supply issues expected.

Pea ShootsUK

ItalyPortugal

Green No reported quality or supply issues.

crop report 13 march 2020...fluctuating temperatures, high humidity remains challenging. plant cells...

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