“The situation on the tomato market is currently fair. Demand for beefsteak tomatoes is very good, and regarding price levels they’re doing better than the vine tomatoes, seasonally. The number of beefsteak tomatoes in Europe isn’t as high as in the past, and that’s why they’re slowly becoming specialities. As a grower, it’s quite good to have beefsteak tomatoes now,” says Rik Decadt of REO Veiling. “Tomato growers often choose a product that requires the least amount of labour, such as vine tomatoes. Beefsteak tomatoes have to be picked more often, and they have to be manually sorted, and that requires a lot of labour. As a result, the popularity of beefsteak tomatoes has decreased among growers.”
France
Demand for vine tomatoes is currently normal for the time of year. Supply is rapidly rising as we head for May, now that a lot of non-illuminated productions are entering production. “From May we’ll have the highest production of vine tomatoes. Towards the summer, we’ll also see consumption of tomatoes increasing. We normally see peaks in consumption during the warm periods,” Rik continues. “Export is also becoming more and more important. We have 30 hectares in France as well, and these tomatoes are grown for the French market. France still has a shortage for domestic consumption. Because REO Veiling is active on the French and Belgian markets, we respond to different kinds of demand from both countries.”
“Largest cucumber auction”
“The tomato segment is still growing at our auction. We still have growers who are starting with tomatoes, and that’s why supply continues to increase. We’ll have to wait and see how the European tomato consumption evaluates itself, but our region is still expanding. Besides tomatoes, cucumbers are also an important product for REO Veiling. We’re the largest auction of Belgian cucumbers, and we’ve noticed courgettes are also becoming an increasingly important and larger product. In the past, leek was REO’s biggest product, but tomatoes are now our number one. It’s great to see this development,” Rik concludes.
For more information:
REO Veiling
Oostnieuwkerksesteenweg 101
8800 Roeselare, Belgium
Tel: +32 51 23 12 11
Fax: +32 51 23 12 89
info@reo.be
www.reo-veiling.be