"Good price forming for strawberries, but bramble price has plummeted"

The price formation of strawberries is good at the moment. "The supplied volumes aren't quite great yet. We had around 1,300 boxes for the auction yesterday and the they were sold for a price of 3.10-3.20 Euro for 500 grams. On Tuesday they were even going for 3.35-3.50 Euro, but I think that the Belgian holiday caused an impulse there.," says seller Hans van Dodewaard of Veiling Zaltbommel.

"The supply of strawberries is gradually decreasing. At the moment a 'pound' per metre is being picked and this will decrease over the next few weeks. The quality of the strawberries is still very good," continues Hans. "Luckily, the price is staying at a good level. The autumn holidays are always a difficult period, but this went quite well this year. We haven't had a big dip, like we had in other years."

Raspberries
Veiling Zaltbommel still receives raspberries from the cold tunnels and Kwanza raspberries from greenhouses. "Prices have been difficult. We were at a slightly lower prices level for 150 grams, but this went up a bit to 1.40-1.60 Euro yesterday. The weather remains an important factor. One serious night of frost and you will have lost a large part of your production," continues Hans.

Blackberries
The prices of the brambles have dropped dramatically in the past week. Whereas the clock price was still 2.20 - 2.30 Euro (150 grams) last week, at the start of the week the clock stopped at 1.10 Euro. "We only have a limited volume of blackberries available, but if they're expensive, exporters will just fly them in from somewhere else. For instance, there are Mexican blackberries on the market," concludes Hans.

"If people are interested in buying Dutch fruit and vegetables straight from the grower they are more than welcome to buy good quality during the auction via a commissioner if they like. We don't charge annual fees for this. A bank guarantee is enough for this."

For more information:
Hans van Dodewaard
Veiling Zaltbommel
Stationsweg 28
5301 KH Zaltbommel
Tel: 0418-579911
Fax: 0418-579213
www.veiling-zaltbommel.nl