The winter season has arrived again and by this we mean that it is almost impossible to find Dutch greenhouse vegetables, writes Frits van der Meulen of KCB. Most have been replaced by products from Spain in particular. An exception is the Dutch tomato. We are still regularly finding these and this is primarily from the autumn cultivation. The quality of these is generally good. Other countries that we are seeing tomatoes from include Spain and Morocco. We can also be brief about them, they are of good quality.
I did see some lesser parties among the greenhouse products such as aubergines, peppers and cucumbers which didn't look as fresh. This certainly isn't the fault of the Spanish growers, but more likely caused by the trade not flowing so well at the moment. This means the products are sitting around for too long in the storage cells of the various companies before a customer is found for them. The greenhouse products that have just arrived generally looked fine.
The trade in other vegetables is moving more quickly. Iceberg lettuce of Spanish origin was of fine quality and the pace was high. Red colouration, which is often present, wasn't found. The shape also looked tight and not as sensitive to tears due to this.
Leeks and chicory are of good quality at the moment and give few problems.
Source: KCB