"Strikingly good demand for chicory for the time of the year"

The chicory market can rejoice in good demand. "The demand is strikingly higher than in other years during this period. Everyone's stock of chicory roots is tight, so not too much is being produced. This results in a good price level," says Gert-Jan van Raaij of Van Raaij Eko from Haps. He supplies the chicory to buyers throughout Europe.

"In the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany the chicory is a real cooking vegetable and the consumption is higher in the winter, but in other export countries the chicory is consumed more as a salad so the market is less dependent on the weather. In other years the demand could collapse if there was good weather but this year there hasn't been any sign of that," says Gert-Jan.

Van Raaij only supplies organic chicory. "The demand for organic chicory is increasing, but in small amounts. The organic chicory only has a small share on the total chicory market. The demand for regular chicory is decreasing more quickly than the demand for organic chicory is rising, so there is slightly decreasing demand on the chicory market," says Gert-Jan.

According to the grower the organic chicory market isn't simple. "We have to deal with all of the diseases that occur in the regular cultivation, so the growing risk is very high," says Gert-Jan. Unique to his company is that setting up the roots and the harvest happen in one room, which limits the noise to a minimum as the the forklift is banned and the robots are silent."

For more information:
Gert-Jan van Raaij
Van Raaij Eko
Sint-hubbertseweg 28
5443 ND Haps
info@vanraaijwitlof.eu
www.vanraaijwitlof.eu