The cauliflower market in the UK is in disarray due to unseasonably warm conditions during October as varieties with longer growing time coincide on the marketplace with those with shorter growing cycles.
Phillip Effingham, managing director of GreenTech Consultancy and chairman of the Brassica Growers Association said: “The warm October has really exacerbated the season. Longer varieties planted in July and due to come on stream in November have accelerated and caught up with shorter varieties.
“The problem is that Cornwall has a glut of produce early and so there will be a period of adjustment in late November when produce will be scarce.”
Product from Lincolnshire, Cornwall and Scotland is all on the marketplace at once, leading to prices plummeting as low as 450p for 12s at wholesale.
This has also been reflected in the major supermarkets with Tesco promoting its standard cauliflower for two weeks until 6 November on a BOGOF for 84p, with Market Value product selling at 69p each and extra large heads at £1.29.
Cauliflower producers, wary of being caught out by harsh conditions as they were last winter, have planted less cauliflower for the November to February period, which will further aggravate the short supply situation expected next month.
According to Effingham, marketing desks and packers are managing risk by setting up deals with Spanish and Italian suppliers in case of shortfall, again as a result of the tough lessons learned last year.
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