Johan Verhagen of Verhagen Agenturen has been active in the potato trade for forty years. Over the course of the years the trade in potatoes has been extended with other agrarian products, such as onions, carrots and white cabbage, but also chips and eggs. Besides this, Verhagen also has a wood trade, named Nedpal BV and a collaboration with a pellet trader, named Europe Pallet BV. Since the end of January trade has been taking place from a new office in Dinteloord at Havenweg 47. Son Kristian, an economics graduate, said goodbye to the world of online shops to support his father in the export last year.
Kristian and Johan Verhagen
"As the son of a potato trader I grew up among potatoes. Over the course of the years I built up a customer base and we export a lot to all over Europe, West Africa and the Middle East," says Johan Verhagen. An important sales country for the exporter is Ireland, where he also has his own office. Verhagen-Agenturen doesn't have its own produce and no growers who grow on a contract basis. "We get the products from five or six reliable suppliers with whom we have been doing business for years. We also import potatoes from Israel, France, Germany and Belgium."
The atmosphere on the potato market at the moment is mediocre. "The margins are tight, but as long as you have the turnover you can make some money. At the moment the Middle East and Iraq are keeping us busy, but we also had a deal on with a large supermarket chain in Portugal with multiple containers last week. Our advantage is that we are a small company with low costs, but we do have access to a large network," says Johan.
The potato exporter also says that choosing a wider assortment was the right decision. "If Europe has a normal potato harvest, the market has a structural problem. The demand for products like chips, on the other hand, is increasing greatly from abroad. We developed our own chip brand. There is also some more space on the onion market, although there is competition from a country like Spain. We look towards the future with optimism. Packaging ourselves may be the next step, but that's all in the future."
The potato exporter also says that choosing a wider assortment was the right decision. "If Europe has a normal potato harvest, the market has a structural problem. The demand for products like chips, on the other hand, is increasing greatly from abroad. We developed our own chip brand. There is also some more space on the onion market, although there is competition from a country like Spain. We look towards the future with optimism. Packaging ourselves may be the next step, but that's all in the future."
For more information:
Verhagen Agenturen BV
Havenweg 47
4671 BT Dinteloord
Tel: + 31 167 52 41 55
Fax: + 31 167 52 82 54
info@verhagen-agenturen.nl
www.verhagen-agenturen.nl