Radish has been grown in Europe since the sixteenth century. The spicy tubers are now grown year-round in the Netherlands. During the winter months, the Dutch supply is supplemented with production from Southern Europe. Ortolanda is the largest European producer of radish, and has a year-round supply.
Three radish nurseries will merge under the Ortolanda name from 1 May. The two Dutch radish nurseries Coolbergen from Oude-Tonge and Cornelissen Fresh Food from Melderslo have a joint radish nursery in Italy: Ortolanda. Fifteen years ago, they started growing radish in Borgo Grappa, a small town south of Rome. Under leadership of Willem-Jan Coolbergen, the company grew to more than 40 hectares of film greenhouses, with a year-round production of 240 hectares in total.
“In order to present ourselves even more as radish specialists on the European market in future, the three companies will be merged under one name as of 1 May. This means a more intense cooperation with a new name and identity, but as the same reliable supplier of radish from the Netherlands and Italy,” according to Monique Cornelissen from Ortolanda. The three companies are currently still operating under their own names. The nurseries will soon get a new corporate identity that will include the mutual name Ortolanda and the slogan ‘The Radish Company.’
Constant year-round supply
This will make Ortolanda the largest radish producer in Europe. Besides, the producer is the only European player that can supply the same volumes year-round. During the winter period, the smaller Dutch volumes are supplemented with supply from Italy. “All of our radish is grown in greenhouses, so that we have better quality and quantity than our competitors who grow in open fields. They experience more and more problems because of increasing extremes in weather conditions, for which large amounts of precipitation are a deciding factor,” Monique explains. In the Netherlands we have about 20 hectares of horticultural greenhouses with a year-round production of 160 hectares in total. The cultivation amounts to a combined 400 hectares per year, which is more than 800 million radish tubers annually. Ortolanda supplies all types of bunched radish, loose radish, packaging and sizing, depending on the customers’ wishes.
While the radish from the Italian nursery is sold through own sales, the production from Melderslo is sold through ZON, and the radish from Oude-Tonge enters the market through The Greenery. “Our radish is supplied to wholesalers, processors and retailers throughout Europe. We directly supply various supermarkets, and we grow along with demand from these supermarkets.” Monique says that much radish is eaten in Europe outside of the Netherlands and Belgium. Besides Germany, France, Scandinavia, Poland, the Czech Republic and the Baltic countries are important destinations during the winter period. During the spring and in summer, when Germany has plenty of their own production, the UK and Ireland are also major buyers.
More information:
Ortolanda