Bell peppers bottom out after several good weeks

Bell pepper prices were high for several few weeks. They were even going for more than EUR3. However, earlier this week prices dropped significantly. "Volumes are now increasing. With this, you see some pressure on prices", says Dutch fruit and vegetable trader, Royal ZON's Sales Manager, Wouter Willems. "Fortunately, we had a few weeks of good prices, particularly with the coloured peppers. We needed this, since the start of the Dutch bell pepper season was terrible. So, there is a lot to make up for."

"Red bell pepper prices (EUR1,60-1,70) are reasonably good. There is also nothing wrong with the yellow's prices. Orange bell pepper prices are still at around the EUR2 mark. There are, however, just too many green bell peppers. They are selling at the EUR1,10-1,20 level", says Wouter. "Fortunately, sales are good. You would need a crystal ball to predict how the market will further develop. However, we hope to be able to maintain our stocks."

"Luckily, this year, we did not have any noteworthy quality issues. This has, undoubtedly, been because of the small volumes. Sales have run smoothly over the past few weeks. This past weekend's sales in Germany were also good. I have also heard that there is a high demand from the United States. We, however, do not yet directly supply that market", concludes Wouter.