The month of May was a good cucumber month with high prices thanks to good weather and a limited supply as a result of the production switches. Luuk Lievaart, Quality Produce International: “We couldn’t get enough cucumbers in May, and prices were high due to limited supply.” Not much is now left of these high prices. Luuk: “Right now, prices for all sizes are between 10 and 20 cent. Both 30s, 50s and 60s are now selling for low prices. The market has completely collapsed.”
Luuk: “Not much has been available for day trading in the past months, for that matter, because the majority of the cucumbers are tied up in programmes. In the past week, more supply became suddenly available on the free market. Despite the sharply increased supply, demand has decreased because of the poorer weather.”
There isn’t just more supply in the Netherlands. Luuk: “We’re also hearing reports that much more product is available abroad. Many European countries now have enough domestic production to meet domestic demand.”