“The trade in carrots is and will remain lousy. The B-carrot can still be sold fairly well on European markets, but there’s far too much of the larger C-carrot,” says Jos de Boer from W. de Boer en Zn. The trade is very much dependent on what the weather in Southern Europe will do. “The carrot is currently sold for incredibly low prices. Directly from the fields they’re sold for 4-5 cent, although it should be 7-8 cent. The same is actually true for white cabbage, they’re also sold for prices that are far too low.”
No spirit
There’s no spirit in both domestic trade and in export, according to Jos. Only a weather disaster leading to a bad harvest could get trade started, he thinks. “No disaster is a disaster, people in the trade sometimes say. There hasn’t been a disaster in a while. Last winter saw no frost, and harvesting even occurred in February. Now there’s no rain, so that carrots in sandy soils are also doing well. Last year in July the plough went through the plantings in Limburg after heavy rain. Now that’s all added, resulting in overcapacity. Carrots continue growing, so that much too much large C-carrot is available. C-carrot goes to cutting plants for low prices. Moreover, some growers still have their old harvest,” Jos continues.
Catastrophic
In the carrot trade growers and traders have little to peck at. Jos: “Last season was catastrophic. A large part of the harvest was processed into animal feed. Both trade and growers have barely been making any money for a while now. In the 37 years I’ve been in this trade, I never experienced this. It’s all very sad.” Is it time to change course? Not for Jos, hopefully there will be better times in five years, just as with the housing market. For more information:
W. de Boer en Zn BV.
Jos de Boer
Oudijk 26
1617 KR Westwoud
T: +31 (0)229 262948
F: +31 (0)229 261986
info@deboerwestwoud.nl
www.deboerwestwoud.nl