The plum acreage in North Holland has seen a downward trend for years now, and given the sales problems this season, next year is also not expected to see a rebound. "The cold stores are filled with imported stonefruit. Not that a lot of Dutch plums were going to Russia, but that does apply to Spanish and French produce, and these countries have also dealt with an abundant harvest. As a result of the weather conditions during the growing season, the harvests overlapped," says Jos Buis of producer organization Reine Victoria.
"For this week, it's still a matter of waiting, but the past week, the price for the smaller varieties was less than two quarters, and the Reine Victoria between 80 cents and a Euro. In addition, the weather has caused some quality problems, and it's useless to try to sell plums that have something wrong with them," Jos continues.
"The growers with cooling capacity have stored the better quality, expecting some more room on the market again in the coming weeks. The marketing organizations are doing their best to get sales on track. For the coming weeks, promotions have been prepared with several retailers, where a positive attitude is felt to sell the Dutch product. Noord-Holland Fruit is also pleased with the quality of the Reine Victoria. Faster sales at better prices for growers are expected in the coming weeks.
"In our area, it's mostly top fruit growers who have some plums in a corner, but many have already disappeared, and that won't be any less this year. Peter Mak for instance, who for years was the largest grower in this area with around 2.5 hectares, has announced he will stop cultivating plums," Jos says. He does still see a future for plum cultivation in North Holland, but also expects a few specialists to continue. "With in-house sales, plums generally sell well, despite bad weather. So some consumers do still value plums and manage to find them. Alternatives are being looked for, with stronger varieties, such as the Lazoet concept, introduced by the Greenery. If that reaches a certain scale, and returning customers can be found for it, there will still be possibilities for limited cultivation of plums in our area."
For more information:
Producer organization Reine Victoria
Jos Buis
j.a.buis.1@kpnmail.nl
Tel: +31(0)229-277338
"In our area, it's mostly top fruit growers who have some plums in a corner, but many have already disappeared, and that won't be any less this year. Peter Mak for instance, who for years was the largest grower in this area with around 2.5 hectares, has announced he will stop cultivating plums," Jos says. He does still see a future for plum cultivation in North Holland, but also expects a few specialists to continue. "With in-house sales, plums generally sell well, despite bad weather. So some consumers do still value plums and manage to find them. Alternatives are being looked for, with stronger varieties, such as the Lazoet concept, introduced by the Greenery. If that reaches a certain scale, and returning customers can be found for it, there will still be possibilities for limited cultivation of plums in our area."
For more information:
Producer organization Reine Victoria
Jos Buis
j.a.buis.1@kpnmail.nl
Tel: +31(0)229-277338