Things are not going wild in the Brussels Sprouts market, says André Noordhoek. He is from the Dutch town of Bleiswijk. "It is calmer than other years around this time. If there is a marketing campaign, the quantities are a bit disappointing." This is, however, going to change, he knows from experience. In the days around Christmas, the demand always increases dramatically.
Orders come in from Germany at the first signs that things are picking up. England is not on the market yet. It is expected that they will also make their appearance toward Christmas. "From next week on, it will be a whole different story."
This product has recovered well after the dry summer. "Actually better than expected. We harvested slightly lower volumes in the beginning. But the sprouts grew rapidly when it began to rain. This is true for all the full soil crops. Maybe that is why it is quieter; they are interfering with each other."
There is a good supply of Brussels Sprouts, depending on the size. "Each country has its own preference. In the Netherlands, people want smaller sprouts while in Germany they prefer the larger ones. The English like medium-sized Brussels Sprouts."
"In itself, this seems to fit nicely. But you do not know beforehand how much per size will be needed. Growers are topping their plants to reduce the variation in the sprouts thickness. This is, however, now a reducing the supply of small sprouts", he concludes.