BelOrta gets 40% share of Belgian top fruit

The die is cast. Cultivators from Veiling Haspengouw were given time this month to come to a decision, and more than 100 cultivators chose to join BelOrta. “We did what we had to do. I am pleased we were able to offer these producers a solution,” says Filip Fontaine of BelOrta. “The producers joining BelOrta are exactly the type of familial companies that appreciated this, and will therefore be a good fit for us. We let them make the decision completely by themselves, everyone who has now joined BelOrta, did so voluntarily.” For BelOrta, the addition of the new cultivators will mean an increase in turnover of about seven to nine per cent.

The ‘operation’ is far from over. “The practical part is next, which will be a big challenge. But we are happy that everything went successfully and are happy we could help a great number of cultivators in need. Our sister cooperative was in dire straits. BelOrta’s objective is to supply Belgian fruit and vegetables in a structured and concentrated manner, so we really had no other choice and took responsibility.”

Cultivators of BelOrta responded positively to the arrival of producers from Haspengouw. “Some still have to find their way around BelOrta a bit, but they are part of the same club now, and they have the same objective. We do not like talking of ex-Haspengouw cultivators, soon the top fruit producers will all be 100 per cent BelOrta.”

Currently, people are busy calculating the total share and area of top fruit. “We have estimated that we will harvest 140 million kilograms of top fruit this season,” according to Fontaine. Total supply of top fruit during the 2014/15 season of the LAVA Veilingen, was almost 376 million kilograms. BelOrta expects to supply 140 million kilograms, which would mean a market share of approximately 40 per cent. It is a large volume, but Fontaine thinks supply could be even more concentrated in Belgium. “There is still much chaos in the fruit region of Limburg. Yet we are satisfied that we were able to take a giant step forward by joining of the Belgian top fruit.” 

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