“Everything is currently coming together on the strawberry market,” says Marc Lambeens from Fruit Vandepoel. “We have supply of outdoor strawberries and strawberries on racks. There are major quality differences between protected and unprotected production, and demand for strawberries is quite low. This results in a low price of between 1 and 1.60 euro at auctions.”
And it's not just the strawberry season that's experiencing a slump, the other soft fruits are as well. “Normally, the French cherry season connects to the Belgian season quite nicely, but due to weather circumstances the Belgian cherries will arrive on the market much sooner. The same is true for redcurrants, the season hasn’t even started yet, and the redcurrant market has already slumped,” Marc continues.
“In coming weeks we expect strawberry supply to drop a bit more, perhaps it would be good for prices. But it’s always difficult to predict, because there are so many factors that have an influence on prices. In neighbouring countries, more strawberries have been planted this years, so that will also put pressure on prices. We’re hoping prices will rise, but we’ll have to wait and see,” Marc concludes.
For more information:
Marc Lambeens
Fruit Vandepoel
Molenbergstraat 11
3470 Kortenaken - Belgium
+32 (0) 11 58 71 47