With a very limited supply and an increasing demand, the chicory market is tense. “The situation is especially complicated for the new harvest. The weather conditions are not favorable, and producers have difficulty pulling the new roots. This inevitably creates some marketing tension,” explains Alban Descamps, one of the two sales associates of the En’Diva association, which markets about 15,000 tons of chicory per year.
Although some tension is always felt during the transition period between the old and the new roots, this year, the yields as the season begins are below average. And in parallel, the demand is growing.
“The climate in France has cooled significantly in the last weeks and the chicory is entering the market. Besides, some other competing products are now less present. The lettuce, for example, has an unusual supply lag between the summer and winter production basins.”
Despite the current tension on the market, Alban expects to be able to offer chicory without problem this winter. “Once the harvest of the roots is completed, there will be products to offer to the consumer, provided that there is no extraordinary weather phenomenon, like a serious frost episode.”
Besides the chicory, En’Diva offers a wide range of chicory derivatives, like the carmine, friseline and red chicory. “The sale of those products is much more linear than that of the classical chicory. The demand is less dependent on the weather. It is also a matter of scale. The chicory is a heavy product in terms of volumes and there are more fluctuations between supply and demand. For the other products, volumes are less important and there is less movement on the market."
Alban Descamps and Stéphane Baudin, sales associates at En’Diva
For more information: 
Alban Descamps
En’Diva
Z.I. Artoipôle
34, allée de Grande Bretagne
62118 Monchy Le Preux
Phone: +33 (0)3 21 15 23 30
Fax: +33 (0)3 21 15 23 39
endiva@endiva.fr
www.endiva.fr