“It’s not just the growers that look at the weather report, we do too,” says Stijn Jamart of Belgian pallet and crate trader Jamart. Crate sales are determined by the harvested volume, which is influenced by the weather. “When warm weather is forecast, we see more demand for wooden strawberry crates. We have to respond to that. We need to be on the ball, and stay flexible.”
Less wood, more cardboard
In recent decades, the wooden crate is slowly losing ground to the cardboard and plastic types. “Most of the wooden crates are for export. I think there’s very little wood going around domestically. Here, cardboard and plastic are the biggest players,” Stijn says. “Soft fruit is important to us. If an auction opts for cardboard packaging, we lose that part of sales. That means we have to look for a solution. In the Netherlands and Belgium, the market is getting smaller, and so the prices are under pressure.”
There’s no straightforward cause for this revolution. “When I ask the auctions, they say it’s determined by the market.” Price and printing can’t be motives, Stijn thinks. A wooden crate is able to compete with the cardboard packagings, and in terms of printing there are plenty of possibilities as well. “You can print just as nicely and clearly on wood as on cardboard. We tell our clients that as well.”
Export advantage
In export, wood has another advantage. “They mostly take wood. Those crates go all over the world and don’t come back,” Stijn explains. “That’s an advantage wood has over plastic.” Before the crates are allowed across the border, the wood needs to be treated. These rules apply to export outside the EU, in order to prevent pests from Europe ending up in other regions.
Uncertain future
The uncertainties of the fruit and veg market directly impact trading in crates. When Putin announced a boycott in August last year, which included European fruit and vegetables, Stijn believed this would also have a big impact on his business. “Our sector is very uncertain. In August, we thought we would be out of work for a year or extended periods of time, but somehow our revenue has remained stable. Every season is different, I’ve never had a year that was the same as the one before.”
More information:
Jamart Kisten en Pallets
Stijn Jamart