"The share of organic produce is growing both in general and certainly within the fruit and vegetable segment in Belgium. We notice an increasing demand among a number of our existing organic clients," says Sander De Proost of BelOrta. "We also notice an expansion of the clientele for organic products. A lot more market stall holders find their way into organic. With us smaller customers have the advantage of being able to take just a few boxes of a product. This means that the smaller customers can also absorb organic into their assortment. Smaller parties focused on catering are also seen to be making the step to organics. Catering itself has seen an increasing demand and we notice that when companies start with organics, it isn't just a one off, they will buy it again next time."
Organic kale, pak choi and cavolo nero
Switch
The range of organic fruit and vegetables is still expanding at BelOrta. "We already offer a large organic assortment, but the number of references is still increasing. Certainly in the area of fruit vegetables we notice there are certain opportunities. BelOrta tries to guide growers as much as possible when switching," says Sander. At the moment the demand for organics is larger than the supply. "To be able to continue to meet the demand, our area also has to increase. Every year there are growers who make the switch. It's important the the growth per product happens in a controlled manner, so that there aren't too many or too few growers of the same products. Yet we notice that growers that are prepared to switch are also prepared to focus on other things."
"We notice that Belgium isn't ahead of the Netherlands and Germany when it comes to the share of organic. There is still some catching up to do here. The organic department of BelOrta has been investing heavily in this in recent years and we notice that the companies that switch are more professional companies that are conscious of the market," continues Sander. "Particularly in the shop shelves organic fruit and vegetables should be taking up a stronger position. For the Christmas period we see that the specialities and winter vegetables are doing well. We see an increasing demand for stewing apples and pears in fruit."
For more information:
Sander De Proost
BelOrta
Mechelsesteenweg 120
2860 Sint-Katelijne-Waver
+32 (0)471 49 0894
sander.deproost@belorta.be
www.belorta.be