The extreme weather conditions in much of the world are severely disrupting exotics supplies, says Starfruit's Ive Lambert. "We're lucky that July and August are traditionally quieter because the supply's very modest," he begins.

According to the Belgian importer, the entire exotic fruit spectrum is experiencing these issues. "Peru and South Africa are sending avocados, not really labeled exotic anymore, but in very low volumes. The bad prices that have been made mean they're sending significantly fewer. So, prices are now rising. Avocado sales are generally pretty stable anyway, but are down now too because many people are on vacation."

"Looking further, though, the fig supply is meager. There are also very few papayas and limes coming in, so these products' prices are skyrocketing. Passion fruit supplies were very mediocre for a long time, but more are gradually arriving from Colombia. Mangoes are the only product that's currently fairly stable," says Ive.

"That's because you can get random volumes from different origins, but even Vietnamese air-freight mangoes still have problems. The heavy rains there have seriously disrupted production. It doesn't make exotics sales any easier; consumers are still budget-conscious, and when prices rise like this, exotics pay the price."

Never before in 25 years
The specialist does not see things improving any time soon, either. "We also do, for example, a lot of beans from Kenya, where things are dramatic too. They had an extended dry period followed by heavy rainfall in a short time, so production has come to a standstill. As a result, they, too, have minimal supply. I've never before seen such a poor supply in 25 years. It should stabilize from week 31, but the preceding two to three weeks will be tough," explains Ive.

He sees this as an ever-increasing trend. "The weather conditions make it difficult in many areas. Egypt ended earlier because it was too hot. Morocco has also stopped. Too hot. Spain's really struggling. Too hot. France doesn't have good production because of the weather, and the long, cold spring means our production is also very disappointing."

"I suspect this crazy volatile weather will only become more challenging. Look at the coming Spanish mango season. It's probably going to be dramatic. It's scorching hot there right now. The stress the mangoes have been under means there's already less fruit on the trees, And what is there isn't growing because they're not getting enough water. Last year's sizes were small, but I expect they'll only get smaller next season," Ive concludes.

Source - https://www.freshplaza.com