The radish prices were at a good level this summer. "We had exceptionally good prices from August to September. This almost never happens in this period," says Erik de Jong of radish grower Jongfresh from Monster. "You can see that the prices of the loose radish were more extreme than the bunches. In this time retailers find it easier to take a product like radish off the shelves when there are high prices if there is a large supply of summer fruit for instance."
"The Dutch supply is at a slightly lower level than last year, but the supply from abroad has had a lot more influence on the market. The Pfalz remains the largest production region for radish. The Dutch supply remain reasonably stable, although it will remain a battle in the summer period when there is enough foreign radish available," continues Erik. Jongfresh is one of the few radish growers to take care of their own sales and the grower likes this. "We're not tied to a sales table, we have the freedom to experiment and make wide commitments!"
For over ten years Jongfresh has been active with specialities such as white and pointed radish and for a year now, icicles. "Those sales are growing slightly, but aren't exploding. There aren't any large sales markets for speciality radish, but they are good items for a specialist to add. In a country like France 80% of the cultivation is pointed radish, but it's grown outside and comes onto our market with a very different price level, as well as very different specifications than ours. We focus purely on high quality and customer desires. Our radish always arrives undamaged because we harvest by hand."
Erik represents the third generation of the radish grower, which started in 1954 as one of the first in the Netherlands. According to the grower the consumption of radish is reasonably stable. "I'm only 29 but I believe supermarkets are paying more attention to the radish." The grower himself is also trying hard to promote the radish. A few weeks ago he had a trailer decorated Jongfresh style.
For more informaiton:
Jongfresh VOF
Erik de Jong
Madeweg 60
2681 PN MONSTER
0031 (0) 174 24 37 83
info@jongfresh.nl
www.jongfresh.nl