"Kale back on the market in dribs and drabs"

The frost period last week caused a peak in the kale demand. "It went very quickly," says Mike Glas of Glas Groenten. "The season is coming to an end, so the supply is tighter. Snowfall in Spain and France is also causing delays. Some trucks are arriving 1 to 2 days late." Mike expects the supply and demand to balance out this week. "It is coming back onto the market in dribs and drabs," he says. Although kale is a winter vegetable, its popularity is growing. "We sold more both last season and in the 2016-2017 season."

Kale is mainly sold as a cut product. Glas Groenten supplies cut kale in 300 gram packaging and in bags of 3 to 4 kilos. There is also demand for other forms and packaging. "Entire leaves in crates are desirable for the export market. We can also supply double stripped kale leaves, in which the large central vein is removed. This is a very labour intensive process, a lot of customers will opt for cut kale." Consumers process kale into smoothies these days, which is why there is more demand for entire leaves that are shredded in the smoothie machine. Mike: "Yet I advise my customers to buy cut and blown clean (in which the nerves of the leave are removed) kale. This is the purest kale available."

Glas Groenten hopes to be able to supply kale until Easter. The Dutch season runs from September to mid January. Then the (Dutch) growers switch to Spanish cultivation areas which, although it is for a high cost price, offer better quality guarantee. Mike: "Kale is reasonably frost proof, but only for the young plants. The plants can recover from frost in December, but once it freezes after January, the plant is lost."

Glas Groenten also supplies sprouts. The Dutch season is over, he says. "The free market is over and that makes it very difficult for sprouts at the moment. The market is already very tight. Supply from Scotland the the United Kingdom is uncertain because there was a considerable amount of snow there and they weren't able to harvest. Nothing can be said about the quality yet. This will become clear over the coming week."

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