The early Brussels sprouts found their way towards sales channels very well. “It went well up till last week, more supply is now starting to arrive and the market has to get back in balance again,” says André Noordhoek from Bleiswijk, the Netherlands. “In the Netherlands, supermarkets start their programmes right about now, but we’ll have to wait and see when Germany gets started.”
Regarding growth, the sprouts suffered a bit under the extreme weather circumstances, but André thinks they suffered less than other outdoor crops. “We were able to irrigate a lot, and quality of the sprouts is good. Because of the warm weather, the plants are a bit shorter, resulting in lower yields. The same is true for later sprouts, they fell behind a bit as well. The effect of the warm and dry weather will be noticed for a while longer this season.”
André predicts a good season. Brussels sprouts are popular, a trend that has arrived in Europe after getting started in the US. André: “Perhaps demand will increase even more, sprouts are a good replacement vegetable for crops that suffered more from the extreme weather circumstances.”