Increasing supply
The reason is that production has gone up a lot in a couple of days. "Supply at the auction has practically doubled. The warm weather also has something to do with it. Next week cooler weather is expected, which likely means lamb's lettuce will grow a bit slower as well. Maybe prices will rebound then."
Competition
Filip Verlae grows his lamb's lettuce for Tomabel. He indicates that the group still comprises the same number. "I think for now, no growers are considering taking up this cultivation, because the prices, on average, haven't been too good in the past few years. We're also facing competition from Germany and France. If it grows well there, demand goes down. Those countries are really big producers, the acreage there is larger than here in Belgium and the Netherlands." Sometimes he also considers taking up a new crop. "But that's almost impossible to achieve. What to do? Investing in something new costs a lot of money. I'm under the impression that the entire horticultural sector is in the doldrums. Prices everywhere are under pressure, and unfortunately very few young people are interested in working in this industry."
For more information:
Filip Verlae
Pater van Eeckestraat 22
8870 Izegem
Tel: +32(0)51-311801