Belgium is quite an important player on the market of fruit and vegetables. As a trade country, Belgium is in about tenth place globally with both fresh fruit and fresh vegetables, and as import country it holds a spot just in the top ten.
A number of products stand out. For example, Belgium is the third importer of bananas globally, after the US and Russia. Considering the majority of this is transported further into Europe, Belgium is also the sixth export country globally. As an export country, Belgium also plays an important part with a number of other products. Belgium is in third place on the list of export countries with pears, carrots and leeks. Remarkably, it’s in fourth place for the (re)export of pineapple and in fifth place for kiwi fruit and strawberries. Besides, Belgium is the ninth tomato exporter and 13th export country of apples.
It’s true it isn’t a fresh product, but Belgium is very big with frozen vegetables. Belgium is by far the most important exporter of this product. This is also the case for frozen potato products. Of all outdoor vegetables grown in Belgium, about 80 per cent is meant for processing industry, for which frozen plays first fiddle.
More vegetables on all fronts: production, trade and industry
Belgium grows, processes, exports and imports more and more vegetables. The production of outdoor vegetables has now increased to 1.4 million tonnes, and the production of greenhouse vegetables has increased to 375,000 tonnes. The largest share of greenhouse vegetables (70%) concerns tomatoes. The Belgian tomato production has gradually increased to 260,000 tonnes. For comparison: In the Netherlands, the production is 900,000 tonnes. Butterhead lettuce, bell peppers and cucumbers are the other products, but with a harvest of about 300,000 tonnes this concerns modest amounts.
Of outdoor vegetables, 80 per cent is meant for industry. Leek is the most important product for the fresh market with about 100,000 tonnes. The production of carrot for the fresh market isn’t far behind. Chicory follows at some distance, and this is followed by cauliflower, courgette and celeriac.
The export of fresh vegetables from Belgium is quickly increasing. In the past year it was 11 per cent more than in 2016, and amounted to 940,000 tonnes. The export range of vegetables is broad. Tomato is the most important product with 220,000 tonnes, followed by carrot with 190,000 tonnes, leek with 67,000 tonnes, cucumbers, onions with 57,000 tonnes, bell pepper with 44,000 tonnes and butterhead lettuce with 27,000 tonnes. Regarding export, 2017 was a record year for carrot, cucumber, onion and bell pepper. For the smaller products, the gradual growth in export is noticeable with courgette.
Most vegetables to France
France is the most important buyer of vegetables from (and via) Belgium. In the past year, export to this country gradually increased to 340,000 tonnes. Carrot and tomato were sent to France most often. The Netherlands is the second buyer with 260,000 tonnes in 2017. This was considerably more than in the previous years. Belgian export to the Netherlands increased particularly for both major products, carrot and tomatoes. Germany is the third buyer with 165,000 tonnes in both 2016 and 2017. After the big three, the UK comes fourth buying 37,000 tonnes of fresh vegetables in 2017.
Import vegetables mostly meant for industry
Last year, the import of fresh vegetables grew to a record size of nearly 1.25 million tonnes. About half of this came from the Netherlands. By far the most important product Belgium imports from the Netherlands is carrot. Last year, it concerned 190,000 tonnes that were mostly meant for the Belgian (frozen) industry. According to the KCB, 1,345 tonnes of Dutch carrot was shipped to Belgium for the fresh market last year. Cucumbers and onions are the next products Belgium imports from the Netherlands. Last year, 70 to 75,000 tonnes were imported of both products. According to the KCB, it was considerably less for cucumbers in particular.
France is the second supplier, exporting an amount of 400,000 tonnes to Belgium last year. This mostly concerned peas, beans and carrot for the Belgian industry. Spain is third, last year, Belgium imported 106,000 tonnes from this country. Tomatoes, onions, courgettes and bell peppers are the most important products imported from Spain.
Antwerp still the most important banana port
In Belgium, fresh fruit mostly revolves around bananas. Although large volumes of bananas now also arrive in Europe via the Netherlands (Vlissingen) again, Belgium, and Antwerp in particular, is still the most important supply port for bananas in the EU. Despite competition from Vlissingen, import is still increasing in Belgium, last year up to 1.44 million tonnes. Colombia is by far the most important banana supplier of Belgium (500,000 tonnes). Costa Rica (250,000 tonnes) and Ecuador (170,000 tonnes) follow at a distance.
The import of fresh fruit other than bananas had a size of 1.12 million tonnes last year, about as much as in 2016, and slightly more than in previous years. Kiwi fruit, mostly from New Zealand, pineapple and apples are the most important products. Of all three of these products, more than 140,000 tonnes were imported last year.
The import of fresh fruit from the Netherlands increased to 325,000 tonnes last year. This increase was mostly on account of the bananas. Last year, 80,000 tonnes of bananas from the Netherlands were supposedly imported. According to Dutch export statistics, it would even be more than 140,000 tonnes. More than 40,000 tonnes of pears were imported from the Netherlands, and 35,000 tonnes of apples. Because of the small amounts registered by the KCB, this mostly concerns re-export via the Netherlands.
Modest export to new markets
Besides the 1.3 million tonnes of bananas, Belgium exported 950,000 tonnes of other fresh fruit last year. Pears are the most important product. Last year, Belgium managed to sell 325,000 tonnes of pears abroad. This was slightly more than in 2015, but about as much as in 2014, the year the Russian import boycott was implemented. In 2014, Belgium exported 77,000 tonnes of pears to Russia. In 2010 and 2011, it was much more, 130,000 tonnes. After the boycott was implemented, the (official) export to Russia was naturally lost, but a considerable increase in export of Belgian pears to Baltic countries can be seen. In 2013, only just over 6,000 tonnes was sent that way, but this amount increased rapidly. In the past year, 76,500 tonnes of pears were exported to the Baltic countries.
Export to former Soviet republics was and remains limited in size. The export of Belgian pears to other countries did grow considerably in recent years. Before 2014, this concerned 130 to 150,000 tonnes per year. After that, this flow of export increased to 260,000 tonnes in 2016, and decreased slightly to 225,000 tonnes in the past year. Neighbouring countries the Netherlands (47,000 tonnes), France (37,000 tonnes) and the UK (34,000 tonnes) were the most important buyers.
The export to destinations further away is of a modest size for now, China imports 3,400 tonnes and Hong Kong 1,500 tonnes. For apples, China is a new market. Last year, more than 10,000 tonnes could be exported to that country, a doubling compared to 2016. Because of the small harvest, export reduced sharply in the second half of 2017. On an annual basis, this resulted in an export of just 160,000 tonnes compared to 210,000 tonnes in 2016. France, Germany and the Netherlands are the most important buyers of apples from Belgium. These three countries are also the most important buyers of Belgian tomatoes.
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Jan Kees Boon
Fruit and Vegetable Facts