The salad season in the French Provence is coming to an end. According to Alexandre Novi from Exploitation Novi, a French salad grower who focuses on export within Europe, it is remarkable that the export volumes of head lettuce seem to decrease. "Other varieties are taking its place, such as the red salad varieties and baby leaves.”
“The European salad production is more and more concentrated in the South of France, Italy and Spain. These three production areas govern the market. For us, it is very important to know which varieties our Italian and Spanish colleagues will produce in order to keep a strong position on the market. If they focus on one variety, the prices of this particular variety will become lower and we will face numerous difficulties exporting them. Right now the French export is coming to an end and the market is turning towards the Belgian and German production.”
Exploitation Novi offers a large range of different varieties. The grower produces lollo rossa, lollo bionda, oak leaf, oak leaf green, head lettuce and green Batavia. Alexandre: “We sell our salads in bulk or flow pack. Next season we plan to increase our export volumes and we are open to new European partnerships.”
As is the case for a lot of salad producers, fusarium is a big challenge. “We are always looking for new ways to avoid the problems by growing crops that are more resistant.” Regarding the future, “currently, research is being done to develop new varieties. We will see how the salad production develops over the coming years.”
For more information:
Exploitation Novi
Alexandre Novi
Mob: +33 6 12 93 25 02