The lettuce market is full of optimism. According to grower Johan Bytebier, they've had a great winter. "It hasn't frozen severely, so the energy costs weren't too high. Prices, on average, were also at a good level." He is planning to harvest again this week. "We planted these in November. We notice it's getting lighter again, and the temperatures are going up. This week the greenhouse temperature without heating was already more than 25 degrees, so it's going quickly."
He notes there were several reasons for the good prices. "There wasn't that much production this winter. Around 100,000 heads of lettuce were shipped each auction day, and on the days in between, a lot less came on the market. A lot of growers have also stopped growing lettuce. Because of this, prices were in the 60-cent range on average. There have been some spikes of 80 cents to a Euro, but that was only once or twice. On February 16, the lettuce price varied from 65 to 71 cents, and supplies were around 65,000 heads. The alternative lettuce is also doing well, that's around a Euro at the moment."
Production increases
He hopes the prices will hold. "It remains hard to predict how it will go. Last year, March was disappointing, with 18 to 20 cents being given on average. We know the production will increase in the near future, but on the other hand there is a shortage in countries like Spain. That's mainly iceberg lettuce, but leaf lettuce is then used as an alternative. I noticed that when I bought a döner kebab sandwich last week. They used leaf lettuce instead of iceberg lettuce this time. I like seeing that, the consumer can't do without," he concludes, laughing.