In the wake of raspberries and blueberries, blackberries are also gaining more and more ground on the international market. “Ten years ago many supermarkets only carried blackberries occasionally, but for a number of years now, all supermarkets have been carrying blackberries structurally, resulting in much stabler sales,” says Bert-Jan Pippel. His company is purely specialised in the cultivation of blackberries, and with 5 hectares of outdoor and 2.5 hectares of greenhouse cultivation, he is able to supply Dutch blackberries from April until Christmas.
Pippel is satisfied with the current season. “Of course, we did not have very sunny spring or summer months, but that has not bothered us much in the cultivation. By harvesting first in the heated greenhouse, then the unheated greenhouse and finally outdoor, we have not been very dependent on the supply peaks of the season. We try to harvest the same amount of kilograms every week, which is ideal for supermarkets we most supply. The blackberry market is still a fairly small market, too much supply and the market collapses, too little supply and the market quickly rises.”
That became apparent once again in recent weeks. Two weeks ago day trading prices were at the disappointing level of 40 cents, by now prices have been over 2.50 Euro for more than a week already “Although that is exceptional,” says Pippel. “This shows how important it is to spread your supply. We try to smooth out the peaks. If we'd had our peak with just outdoor cultivation two weeks ago, we would not have been able to make up for the losses. Since April, we have had supply every day.”
Soft fruit category on the rise
Over the years, the production of Dutch blackberries increased significantly. “But up till now the increase in area has been rising proportionally to increasing demand. The entire soft fruit category is on the rise and I expect this rise will last for a while longer. In many scientific studies, soft fruit emerges positively in relation to health,” says Pippel. Although imported blackberries from, for example, Mexico are arriving in larger numbers on the European market, buyers prefer local product, according to him. “Qualitatively imported blackberries have nothing on ours.”
Pippel does not expect many cultivators to just start growing blackberries on the side. “It is not an easy cultivation, and it is incredibly labour-intensive. We are one of very few companies purely specialising in blackberries, and we do everything with our own staff. For example, since 2007 we have been cultivating all of our own blackberry bushes, and we take care of the Polish people and their housing ourselves. We used to work with employment agencies, but we often got inexperienced pickers from these agencies and it takes several months to teach someone to pick blackberries properly. To us it is important that people return, and by taking care of that ourselves, we have a better connection with our employees.”
The majority of Pippel’s blackberries find their way to retailers on the domestic market, while the rest ends up in other places in Europe, with the UK and Scandinavia being the most important destinations. “Russia used to be an important market for the higher segment of blackberries, so that loss is definitely felt on the market,” says Pippel. Combatting the Suzuki fruit fly is a challenge that has to be faced in the coming years. People are also working hard to introduce new strains on the market. “We have been working with the same strains for years. New strains have never really had their breakthrough.”
All in all Pippel is confident about the future. “We have all possible packagings in stock. In order to optimally service our buyers, we invested in a packaging line. All sorts of punnets, boxes and bowls can be weighed, and lids and stickers can be added here. We have created a new packaging line especially for our buyers. On this line, all the blackberries, after they have been picked and placed in the desired packaging, are immediately weighed, lidded and provided with a label with the shopkeeper’s codes. Because of this, blackberries are shop-ready right away, which shortens the time between picking and selling in the shop.”
For more information:
Pippel Bramen
Bernhardstraat 31
4175 ED Haaften