Although the leek season extends from the beginning of autumn to the beginning of spring in the N Hemisphere, they are available all the year round. Nevertheless, their quality is quite lower in summer, since they develop a woody heart.

As an example of a typical European market, the following table shows the countries that export leeks to the United Kingdom, as well as the period in which they are exported and the weight of the most frequent packages.

Origin	Availability in the markets of the United Kingdom	Weight by package
Australia	According to the market demand	Various
Belgium	All the year round	5/10kg
Denmark	According to the market demand	10kg
Dominican Republic	According to the market demand	Various
France	May-July and January-March	5/10kg
Greece	December-February	5kg
Ireland	All the year round	5kg
Italy	December-March	5/10kg
Jersey	End of June-July	9kg
The Netherlands	All the year round	5/10kg
Portugal	May-July	Various
Spain	According to the market demand	Various
Thailand	September-February	Various
Turkey	September-October	Various
United Kingdom	End of July-May	4/5kg

Source: Fresh Produce Desk Book (1998)