Downpours take toll on vege stocks
If you’ve tried to buy spinach recently and left empty-handed, or been surprised at the price, you’re not alone.
Spinach, and a number of leafy green vegetables, are in short supply due to the rain that has hit much of the country in recent weeks.
Ajay Jina, owner of Jina’s World of Fresh Produce, said it had been too wet for crops such as spinach, lettuce, mesclun and other salad leaves to be grown in recent times.
‘‘It has been so wet for a consistently long period, the growers have been restricted in their planting activity,’’ he said.
‘‘They can’t plant when the ground is sodden and once they do get in there they have to allow the plants to mature before another big batch of rain comes.’’
He said the supply would come right, but it needed some consistent weather in the growing areas.
Jina said silverbeet could be a good alternative to spinach.
‘‘It’s a bit more robust and can handle more inclement weather. Spinach is very delicate and affected a lot more easily.’’
New World was selling bags of fresh spinach for $5.99 yesterday, while Countdown had a 325 gram bag for $7.29.
A Countdown spokesperson said the effect of heavy rain a few
‘‘It has been so wet for a consistently long period, the growers have been restricted in their planting activity.’’ Ajay Jina
Jina’s World of Fresh Produce
weeks ago was still being seen in the supply of leafy greens.
‘‘The good news is that we’re expecting supply to bounce back within the next couple of weeks and, provided we don’t have any major weather events, customers should be able to find plenty of their leafy green favourites on the shelf then.’’
Stats NZ data last week showed that fruit and vegetable prices lifted 10% year-on-year in July, led by tomatoes, lettuce and broccoli.
A spokesperson for grower Leaderbrand said July was the wettest month on record.
‘‘We’re about to have another week of bad weather across the country. The rain really hampers our ability to both harvest and plant crops as tractors can’t go out in the fields when there is excess water.
‘‘One bad week of weather can throw out the planting schedule for several weeks.’’