As a result of the darker days in December and January the Dutch aubergine supply was late getting started this year. Now all Purple Pride aubergine growers have product. "Unfortunately the prices over the course of the season are lower than last year, as a result of the widespread presence of Spanish aubergines on the market," says sales leader Michel den Ouden.
With a harvest of 20 million kg of aubergines per year, divided over five cultivation locations, Purple Pride is the largest aubergine supplier in North West Europe. The sales and marketing of Purple Pride aubergines is done through DOOR Partners BV, the sales subsidiary of Cooperatie DOOR U.A. Within Purple Pride the Van Duijn location in Oosterland has been expanded and the specialties will be grown in Steenbergen from this season. Nationally the aubergine area has declined slightly, but on the other side of this there is a considerably larger growth in the Belgian aubergine cultivation.
Export figures of Dutch aubergines show that the aubergine export in Eastern Europe in particular is experiencing considerably growth, the export to Poland in the last year grew particularly quickly. The export to Germany is stable and England showed a decline in 2017. We have a good position on the British market and our aubergines are also well represented in countries like Germany, the United States and Scandinavia," concludes Michel.