The Moroccan tomato season began a few weeks ago at Kraaijeveld in the Netherlands. "The start was quite difficult, also because of the heat that gripped Morocco in the summer. The plants took a big hit, and the supply was slightly delayed. I think that only benefits the market situation. The overlap is much better. The Dutch cultivation is ending, and Morocco is coming to the market with larger volumes," says Bart de Vries.
In recent years, Morocco has become an increasingly important tomato supplier for the fruit and vegetable trading company. "We carry a nice assortment of round, plum, and cherry tomatoes and do plenty of cherry tomatoes that are available in not only red but orange, brown, and yellow, too. The Intense tomatoes are firmer and retain their shape and fruit juice during slicing. We supply many processing industry customers with these."
According to Bart, the emergence of the Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) has led Morocco growers to bet heavily on new varieties. "We're now receiving the first highly resistant varieties, and I find these tomatoes' quality, taste, and shelf life encouraging. I believe to respond well to virus pressure, Morocco is taking a good chance with these," he says. "We see Morocco becoming increasingly significant as a tomato supplier in the winter while Spanish volumes only keep decreasing."
"We serve the food service and processing sectors and retailers across Europe. We can sell Moroccan tomatoes well to this mix of customers. We work with daily, weekly, and seasonal prices, whatever the client prefers. We used to import many bulk tomatoes, but we're increasingly supplying packaged tomatoes directly from the grower, especially for our retail buyers. All packaging options are possible, from flow pack, heat seal, top seal, buckets, clamshell, and shakers," Bart concludes.
For more information:
Bart de Vries
Kraaijeveld
27 Herenlaan, 3155 DC
Maasland, the Netherlands
Email: bart.de.vries@kraaijeveld.com
www.kraaijeveld.com