“Foreign supply affecting iceberg lettuce exports”

Sales of iceberg lettuce are currently not going very smoothly. “We are selling the product, but with difficulty,” says Rick van de Ven, responsible for the sales of iceberg lettuce for ZON. “Supply in the Netherlands is no larger than usual, but foreign supply is affecting our sales. In other years, crops would occasionally fail here and there, but countries such as Scandinavia, Germany and Poland are currently all self-sufficient. A few weeks ago we could still send a significant number of 10ers to the UK, but that demand has also disappeared.”

All of this has resulted in a price level of about 2.50 euro. “And that is not the best price level,” Van de Ven concludes. “Now that the weather has become more settled, certain countries will have less supply. That might cause a recovery, but prices will not immediately jump up to between 4.50 and 5 euro, unlike in previous years. The quality and shelf life of Dutch iceberg lettuces are very good.”

The consequences of hail damages remained limited for the iceberg lettuce cultivators of ZON. “We had some water damage in June, meaning we had to pulp some iceberg lettuce, but those numbers had no effect on the overall market situation,” Van de Ven says. “The Dutch iceberg lettuce area has been between 2,500 and 3,000 hectares for years, however yields per hectare have been significantly lower this year compared with last season.”

For more information:
Rick van de Ven
ZON
T:+31 77 323 96 83
rick.van.de.ven@royalzon.com
www.royalzon.com