Tomatoes have been trading daily at a very low level for weeks. That's according to Philip van Geest. He's from the Dutch company, Van Geest International. "TOV and loose tomatoes are doing very badly. They're priced between €1.50 and €2.25 per box and €2.50 or €2.75 per day. They're selling, but, unfortunately, for low prices. So, we luckily don't have to throw them away. There's some hope. Tomato production is falling rapidly. But that coincides with the holidays, so there are no guarantees."
"Beef and plum tomatoes are faring better. They're priced between €3.50 and €5.00 per box. Cherry tomatoes are the front runners when it comes to daily prices. The 9x250 boxes are going for €5.00 to €6.50. That's partly due to some promotions. Aubergines are selling quite well at about €5.00/€5.50 per box. That's after they were stuck at around €2.50/€3.50 for a few weeks. Cucumbers are priced reasonably well to excellent this season. Box prices are from €4.50 to €5.50, with outliers reaching €6.50 or €7.00. High demand and crop rotation are helping considerably here."
"Bell peppers are experiencing some quality issues with damage in inner rot. They're selling well with prices of €3.50 to €4.50 per box of reds. This price, however, rose to €5.50 on Monday. Prices for the yellow and orange varieties have been at approximately €4.50/€5.00 for a long time. It sometimes climbs to €6.50 and even approached €8.00 on Monday. Green bell peppers are at a good level of €5.50, even going as high as €7.50. The availability of the colored bell peppers is going to decline too. That could push sales prices up to a somewhat higher level," expects Van Geest.
"Day trading is, generally, not attracting products. In Europe, the hospitality sector's been closed in recent weeks. That's partly to blame for this. It also seems as if there's sufficient local produce. And it's growth weather. So, people aren't expecting much improvement any time soon. Outdoor vegetables like iceberg lettuce are becoming available in large numbers now too."
"But, there are also enormous amounts of these available locally. The holidays are fast approaching. These usually don't yield the best prices. The season will, therefore, putter along, as it has in recent months. We can't make it any better or easier," concludes Philip.
For more information:
Philip van Geest
Van Geest International
Tel: +31 (0) 174 514 300
Email: pvg@vgibv.nl
Website: www.vgibv.nl