Difficult year for processed vegetables will result in shortages_13.12.10

European vegetable canners and freezers in major producer countries such as Poland, Hungary France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands have been hit by extreme weather in 2010 causing reduced crop yields that will give shortages in a number of products.

A cold winter and spring led to delays in sowing the spring crops.

Very dry conditions during May, June and July reduced yields and quality of summer crops:
- Peas
- Spinach
- Baby Carrots
- Carrots
- Cauliflower (first season)

In August the rains came and continued ....
The wet weather restricted the sowing of autumn spinach and only a fraction of the planned volume was processed. The wet condition also caused re-growth in onions and made the harvest difficult. Sweet corn yields were damaged by the damp and cool conditions. Root crops, particularly carrots, have been water logged resulting in field losses and lesser quality.

Early severe frosts and snow hit Northern Europe in November when large areas of root, stem and brassica crops were still to be harvested. Vegetable processing factories have lost critical weeks from their planned production as the crops they need to process lie frozen in ground. The earlier less hardy varieties of carrots and stem vegetables will certainly have been destroyed by frost and it is too early to predict how much of the remaining crop can be salvaged when the ground finally thaws.

Overview of product shortages – the yield of many crops such as peas, carrots, green beans, spinach, onions, cauliflower, broccoli, peppers and sweet corn has reduced in 2010 by between 10% and 30% depending on the growing area. For other crops such as celeriac, leek and turnips quality and yield reductions are also anticipated.