The supply of cucumbers across the big consumption market of Europe is on the lower side with slow starts for many production countries. However, pricing is also low in most EU countries. At the largest auction in Belgium the ‘largest cucumber acreage in recent history’ was noted. This winter the Netherlands and Belgium have seen an increase in supplemental lighting usage in greenhouses aided by the reduction in energy prices.
Cucumber prices ended very high in 2023 but at the start of 2024 prices were much lower. The cucumber production countries around the Mediterranean like Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy are said to be closely watching the weather to see if the continued drought will have another significant impact on production this season. In Israel cucumbers are mainly produced for the local market, but despite this local production, cucumbers are still expensive. Due to the war situation a lot of producers could also not keep to the usual production schedule.
