Carrot sales are currently on fire, "Prices are soaring. In the polders we are now at 40 cents per washed carrot, but next week we will see 45 cents and I expect prices to further rise after that," says carrot trader Paul van der Linde from Emmeloord, The Netherlands. "Right now demand is coming from everywhere. Carrots are always going to Africa, and we also have demand from European countries such as Germany, Austria, Spain and Italy."
"At the beginning of the season there were still some doubts about the season due to the Russian boycott, but we have actually had a very good year. In December we knew that the season could not go wrong, but we never would have guessed that it would turn out this well," continues Paul. "Last year we were through the old carrots by mid-July and now that will happen around mid-May. That is not necessarily a bad thing because the quality starts to fall and then we have to really search for higher quality."
"Somehow there is a gap in the new harvest. In a week or two Spain will put their first carrots on the market, but the supply will not be so large that it will cover all demand. After the disastrous year last year when the Spaniards and French could not sell all their carrots, the acreage for growing carrots has decreased dramatically," says Paul. He is not afraid of the expansion that can happen next season after seeing how well the carrots have done this year. "There will definitely be some expansion, but the possibilities for expansion in the Netherlands is limited. Not all land is suitable for carrots."
For more information:Van der Linde
Paul van der Linde
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Paulvanderlinde@vanderlindebv.com