With shopper staples such as carrots, cabbage and onions, vegetables is yet another category that is likely to face lasting scars from the supermarket price wars.
The value of the category has dropped by a staggering 8.6 per cent in the last 52 weeks, equating to almost £500 million, and driven solely by average price decreases of 10.3 per cent. Meanwhile, volume increases of 1.9 per cent reflect last year’s mild autumn and the recent warm weather, as well as slight increases in shopper frequency [KWP, w/e 29 March 2015].
As the top four retailers compete with discounters by placing ever-increasing focus on price and reduction of SKUs, sales performances are under more scrutiny than ever – a fact that has been demonstrated recently in the vegetable category with Asda delisting whole green cabbage.
Andy Wareham, Asda’s vegetable buyer, explains: “Green cabbage has slowly fallen out of fashion with our shoppers as trendier greens such as kale, Savoy and Cavolo Nero have elbowed their traditional green cousin out of the way. It was with a heavy heart that we took the decision to take it out of our range, but it does mean we have extra space for the more fashionable cabbages.”
But there was no surprise among growers, many of whom had already withdrawn from the line due to poor sales. Greville Richards, managing director of Southern England Farms (SEF), says Asda’s decision “wasn’t at all surprising” and, moreover, believes it won’t be long before the others follow suit. “It is such a small line – green cabbage used to be big but sales are now very poor. We gave it up years ago. It will be very interesting to see what happens to the smaller lines, and what lines survive on retail shelves.”
Despite the ongoing value decline in the category, the mood among growers is mixed as the veg category is nevertheless seeing growth in some of its more buoyant sub-categories. Richards explains how courgettes are becoming an increasingly large part of the SEF business – he recently upped production area to 400 acres to meet demand from a growing market.
“The courgette season includes two plantings, the first of which we mostly completed by 8 April. That’s the earliest it’s ever been, and it’s down to no overnight frosts, and recent warm weather,” he says, adding that the Spanish courgette season – which during the winter suffered from bad weather and white fly issues and saw prices reach as high as £3 per kg – has levelled out in price and quality, allowing British growers to enter a more stable market. “We’ve also increased plantings of summer broccoli, and planting commenced in the first week of March. The ground conditions have been absolutely lovely so we’re expecting an early start to the season, but anything could happen,” he adds.
Cabbage and spring greens have seen predominantly good growing conditions, says Richards, although a windy January led to some scarring on the leaf and lower yields, while cauliflowers have had “a season you want to put behind you”.
Senior buyer at catering supplier Reynolds, Matt Jones, believes it’s not just prices that are causing headaches for brassica growers. “Brassica farmers are facing very difficult trading conditions, at least in part driven by competition in retail markets. With margins for many growers moving into a negative position, savings on red diesel and energy costs are welcome, but seed costs are expected to increase by around five per cent year on year,” he says.
According to Jones, current stocks of parsnips are holding up well and some suppliers are hopeful of maintaining full UK supply. “Carrot stocks are looking less favourable with cavity spot and some generally poor quality apparent. This suggests that a fairly lengthy import window is expected,” he says. “Ambient-stored onions have lasted well this year. UK cold-stored stocks should take us through until the end of June when we expect to move on to new-season Spanish or Egyptian crops.”
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