Across Northern and Western Europe, vegetable producers are contemplating halting their activities because of the financial hit from Europe’s energy crisis, further threatening food supplies.
Surging power and gas prices will impact crops grown through the winter in heated greenhouses such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, and those which need to be placed in cold storage, such as apples, onions and endives.
European farmers are warning of shortages. The anticipated hit to production and jump in prices means supermarkets may switch to sourcing more goods from warmer countries such as Morocco, Türkiye, Tunisia and Egypt.
‘Serious talks’ with Turkish producers…
Plagued by soaring energy costs, many vegetable producers have halted output and plantings in greenhouse cultivation fields in Europe are said to have dropped by up to 40%.
To try to meet the shortages, many supermarket chains and suppliers from Europe are said to have started negotiations with producers from Türkiye’s southern province of Antalya, dubbed the country’s winter production center.
Western Mediterranean Exporters Association (BAIB) Ümit Mirza Çavuşoğlu said “very serious” talks on contracts for all food products, especially fresh fruits and vegetables, have been ongoing in Antalya for this winter.
“Especially large market chains are conducting research and interviews in and around Antalya. We know that there will be serious deficiencies and that is why we have made serious preparations together with our producers,” Çavuşoğlu told Demirören News Agency (DHA).
“Of course, our priority is to meet the food needs of our nation and to evaluate our surplus with exports. Our goal is to increase the foreign exchange inflow to the country by producing as much as possible and exporting as much as possible.”