The Belgian greenhouse vegetable market is unusually calm as the year draws to a close. Various traders seem to be remarkably quiet. "There's always a slight slowdown in greenhouse vegetables towards the last weeks of December, but the Christmas rush is definitely over now," they say.
Last winter, most Belgian greenhouse growers did not switch on their lights. This season, many of them - partly thanks to stabler energy prices - seem to be growing under lights again. The supply is, however, still lagging somewhat.
Barry Michiels of the Gebroeders Michiels wholesalers describes the months after September as traditionally six lean months, but "it's quieter now than in other years. I'm not quite sure why. The supply is lagging, but demand isn't particularly high either," he says.
"It's, of course, almost holidays, and, on the German market, we must compete with the Spanish supply." The company mainly supplies its Belgian vegetables to German wholesalers. "The Spanish supply is also not quite what it should be, but that's not causing skyrocketing demand for Belgian produce," Barry points out.
"You obviously can't compare it to last year, but I didn't expect it to be this calm. It will probably pick up after New Year's. Most of the lit crops will arrive then, and we'll benefit from the lower harvest in Spain and Morocco. Still, we're approaching the turn of the year quietly."
According to Barry, several other traders feel the same. "There aren't many tomatoes coming in, and cucumbers, too, are lagging. That's why these two products' prices rose again in the past few weeks," he says. "We'll just have to wait and see. Normally, we'd be busy with traditional winter vegetables."
"Those include carrots, leeks, and chicory. Those, though, are still experiencing many supply issues due to all the rain we had. That also makes them very expensive for the time of year. We'll get through it, but we'd like to quickly get to 2024's first months," Barry concludes.
For more information:
Barry Michiels
Gebroeders Michiels
50 Kempenare Street
2860, Sint-Katelijne-Waver, BE
Tel: +32 (0) 475 262 482
barry@gebroedersmichiels.be