The cold continues to trouble farmers in both Spain and Italy. In Spain, grape vineyards were damaged after a brutal snowstorm while Italy expects to see a low supply of cauliflower due to cold freezes around Europe. The Councillor of Water, Agriculture and Environment of Murcia, Adela Martínez Cachá, and the Mayor of Totana, Juan José Cánovas, visited the table grape vineyards in Spain that were damaged in various areas of El Raiguero as a consequence of the snowstorm.

The actual extent of the damage, caused mostly by the weight of the snow on the protective plastics, is still unknown, but the acreage of those who have already reported to be affected could exceed sixty hectares.

According to the Councillor, technicians of the Regional Agrarian Office have been assessing the damage since last Friday in order to make a financial estimate to be sent to the Ministry of Agriculture, and thus make it possible to determine how much aid will be needed from the administrations. Despite the low amounts of cauliflower harvested elsewhere in Europe, French cauliflower prices remained quite low this week, according to vegetable exporter Theo Kampschoer from Brittany. “For a normal quality cauliflower prices are around 7 euro, and prices are around 9 euro for good quality.” “Supply was very good this week, with a volume of 100,000 to 140,000 crates per day,” Kampschoer continues. “By now we also have cold weather, with temperatures between -2 to 4 degrees Celsius at night, and 5 to 6 degrees Celsius above freezing during the day. That is why we expect slightly less supply in week 4.”