Belgian tomatoes cheaper in supermarkets than at auction

The prices for several Belgian vegetables are relatively high at the moment. The locally grown vegetables that are available are selling at a good price. "Tomatoes were €2.50 per kilogram at the auction this Monday (19 December). This was due to the fact that a certain Belgian supermarket started a campaign that caused a shortage of tomatoes. They sold the tomatoes for €1.70 per kilogram in the supermarket, the tomatoes were wrapped in a dish," says Jonathan Vandesande of export company Weiss. "We could calculate that the producer had, wrapping included, made more costs than revenues."



Quiet
Especially in this period before Christmas, the businesses that supply products to retail are very busy. Export company Weiss, who mainly supplies vegetables to German wholesalers and businesses that supply the catering industry, has had a bit of a quiet time, even though the trade is steady.

He continues: "When it comes to lettuce, the prices are reasonable, but they could increase when Christmas comes near," he expects. "Additionally, the prices for leeks have increased severely since last week. Then, 60 cents was a tough price to pay, but at this moment it is 90 cents. Dandelion salad is about 10 to 12 euros. For this time of year, that is quite normal, but still relatively expensive. The prices of witlof have increased as well." He expects that this will change within a few weeks. "Of course, it is not easy to estimate this, these few weeks are always odd, but most things we have already seen before. It seems that the prices will get normal again in January."

For more information:
Jonathan Vandesande
J. Weiss bvba
Kempenarestraat 52
B-2860 Sint-Katelijne-Waver (Belgium)
Tel.: +32 15 55 20 11
Fax: +32 15 55 30 02
www.weiss.be