The traditional soil-grown chicory season has wrapped up at Lathouwers en Co. The product, once popular in many chicory-producing countries, seems today to be primarily reserved for Belgium. However, this regional product in Belgium has encountered rough weather due to a lack of succession, but Herman Lion of the trading company from Flemish Wolvertem, is hopeful and speaks of a beautiful, stable season. "It may well be one of the last pure crafts in this sector, but fortunately, the prices have remained stable, leaving little reason for complaint this year. It provides a boost for the growers."
For soil-grown chicory, however, it's over for this year. "We continue all year round with hydroponic chicory, but for soil-grown chicory, it's finished," explains Herman. "You still see some supply at the auctions, but we work with a fixed group of growers, and they have stopped, so we stop too. Overall, we can certainly speak of a fine season that went as expected."
"We've had few problems with supply and deliveries. We've been able to fulfill all contracts, so you can only be satisfied. Of course, the growers did experience some problems with the climatic challenges, but all in all, we've managed to get through. The prices throughout the year were reasonably stable. There were no moments of extremes. Naturally, there are always peaks and troughs in demand around the holidays or when it's very warm or cold. Those are the natural movements in the market. Like this weekend, when it's going to be 22 degrees, then the demand for, in this case, hydroculture, goes down. People then opt for a tomato or lettuce."
Succession
This also leads to satisfaction among the growers, Herman states. "A grower always prefers a stable season over one with exceptional peaks. Then he knows where he stands." That the year is positive provides hope for the trader, as succession is still not evident for soil-grown chicory growers. "It's a bit of a problem that has been dragging on for years. Many growers have no succession or the children choose other professions because it's still really intensive labor. It's a beautiful craft, but you also have to have a passion for it to carry it out."
"It sometimes makes it difficult to find new young entrepreneurs willing to step in," he continues. "We do see initiatives being started to facilitate this. For example, there have been workshops in the past two years to enthuse young growers about the cultivation and teach them the craft. There was indeed interest, so hopefully, it's a step in the right direction so that soil-grown chicory cultivation never disappears here. That would be a real shame for such a Belgian classic."
Hydroponic chicory
For Lathouwers en Co., the focus now shifts back to summer, with its hydroponically grown chicory. "We do this all year round and although demand traditionally goes down a bit in the summer, there is still definitely sales. At the moment, prices have risen again. There seems to be a bit of a shortage due to problems with the weather last autumn and the fire in a Dutch warehouse (ed. De Groene Agri) where a lot of carrots were stored. This is currently causing high prices, which after a very expensive winter period seemed to have normalized for a while, but have now risen again. We will see how the coming period unfolds. Chicory raw in a salad is also being eaten more and more, so there is enough demand and supply to get through the summer in a good way," concludes Herman.
For more information:
Herman Lion
Lathouwers en Co
Veilinglaan 39
1861 Wolvertem (Meise), Belgium
+32 (0)52 39 79 00
[email protected]
www.lathouwers.net