A rather challenging production and marketing year for German chicory is on the horizon. "The Europe-wide root harvest is significantly below average. There's simply not enough produce. It is partly caused by the dry and cold spring. The harvest, which already started late, has been delayed due to precipitation and waterlogging, which is rather atypical. The root farmers are trying to raise the prices of the raw goods accordingly," explains Michael Schindler, chicory marketer for SL Schwanteland Ltd, based in Oberkrämer, Brandenburg.
Managing Director André Krötz (right) and Production Manager Marcus Bielinski of SL Gartenbau.
Schwanteland markets the produce of the chicory forcing company SL Gartenbau and mainly supplies retail chains throughout Eastern Germany and the Berlin wholesale market. Schindler: "The demand was somewhat lower than last year, but not dramatically. So, the buying restraint is noticeable. The challenge was that we had to enforce higher prices in the market due to increased overall costs, but we have largely succeeded." Overall, prices are significantly above the previous year's level.
In the forcing house of SL Gartenbau, both German and Dutch roots are sprouting.
According to Schindler, an increase in demand in the further course of the season is not to be expected. "It will continue to be difficult. We are now heading towards summer, when demand tends to decrease anyway. We will start the new root season again from September." In order to be able to operate more independently in the market and to prevent bottlenecks, SL Schwanteland is now considering growing chicory roots itself.
The forcing chamber. The transition from the old to the new root harvest went quite smoothly this year.
This year, the quality of the harvested roots varied greatly. Schindler: "The trade naturally has its wishes, mostly two to three sprouts per 500-gram package are required. However, the root size is extremely difficult to control. Depending on the company, we are sometimes delivered batches that are heavily caked with soil, but big problems usually only become apparent at the end of the season when the last roots of the old harvest are sprouted."
Red chicory slightly on the rise
In addition to the 'market-standard', white sprouts, SL Schwanteland also markets red chicory, an absolute niche product. "After we discontinued the product a few years ago, we were able to place it again at the beginning of 2023. We are talking about very small quantities, but we have been able to slightly increase the sales quantity. What makes production difficult is the fact that the red chicory is sprouted in the same forcing cell as the white. Due to the higher production costs and the lower yield per forcing crate, however, higher prices can ultimately be achieved for the product," Schindler explains.
Both the market share and consumption of chicory have remained relatively stable over the last decade, Schindler continues. "In my opinion, there will be no huge leaps anymore, but I still see a little growth potential. So, I expect the chicory market to continue to develop steadily."
Photos: SL Schwanteland GmbH
For more information:
Michael Schindler
SL Schwanteland GmbH
Perwenitzer Chaussee 2
16727 Oberkrämer
Phone : 03304 20 51 26
handel@sl-schwanteland.de
www.sl-schwanteland.de