However, one might have expected European retailers, having gradually normalised consumers to the year-round availability of seasonal products, to be better prepared for such an eventuality. “What happened in Spain shows that European importers should look more to Egypt,” said Amr El-Beltagy, product manager at Egyptian producer-exporter Belco. According to El-Beltagy, a more sustainable approach from Europe’s importers would be to import regular volumes from North Africa in order to avoid an over-reliance on countries such as Spain. “The importers all then turn to North Africa as an alternative.”However, he said, producers in North Africa won’t automatically have the volumes to deal with a major shortfall. This season, Belco has seen a major increase in demand for leafy vegetables, including iceberg lettuce.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 20, 2017 16:32 UTC