Agrexco has said it is having great difficulty in trying to supply all of its herb lines from Israel in the wake of damaging frosts in January.
“In general, we continue to struggle with all lines,” said the company’s herb manager in the UK Michael Caddy. “In fact the situation has got worse as basil, which escaped the colder weather, has been affected by botrytis where heating was not high enough and air circulation poor. It is difficult to assess the yield available in the field and how the crops will respond in the future as day length increases. But crops that take longer to harvest are exposed for longer to attack from pest and disease.”
Caddy added that Agrexco is continuing to “do all we can” but that any improvement in the supply situation is dependent on warm weather which is not currently forecast.
Agrexco reports that coriander is experiencing real shortage and the outlook is poor with volumes running 50 per cent below the company’s sales forecast. Flat leaf parsley if faring just as badly with no improvement on the horizon likely for at least the next few weeks. “As it is slow to germinate, new sown crop will not be available before April-May,”said Caddy. “As the regrowth is cut again we will see an improvement as what survived comes through, but the new growth will be prone to disease.” The herb is roughly 60 per cent down on Agrexco’s sales forecast. Dill has been completely wiped out and chive availability is very limited with the prevailing cold weather slowing re-growth and threatening shelf life.
Rosemary, thyme and mint are among the few products to be faring well.
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