Marks and Spencer salads

Weather conditions this summer have had a huge effect on vegetable consumption in France, according to weather risk management company Metnext.

Following a cool and rainy spring, most of France experienced a hotter than average summer, but one that was generally less sunny and very changeable, affecting sales of a number of weather-sensitive products, Végétable reported.

Consumption of prepackaged salads, for example, was lower than usual during the spring, including in June, and higher than average in July, before falling again in August.

Overall, prepackaged salads reportedly experienced a decline in sales of 1.1 per cent over the whole summer.

Conversely, in August frozen vegetables recovered the ground they had lost in June and July, finishing the summer up by 1 per cent, Végétable stated.