In the Netherlands, the carrot cold storage season is over. "There are currently French and Spanish imports. So that creates a nice overlap. Prices are reasonably good for the time of year. This week, we'll start with the first early carrots from [the province of] Limburg," says Kees Heegsma. He's from a Dutch open field vegetable trading company of the same name.
Early carrots in Limburg.
"There's always an advantage. Once the cold stores are empty, we can start anew with a clean slate. That's not a given, though. There are also years when carrots are still available from the cold stores in July." Kees looks back on an extraordinary year. "Expectations were high in the autumn. Also, because of the low yields and the moderate crated volumes. We thought that was going to happen. Prices rose in mid-February with the frost. Then the market was certainly in a good mood. Those with better batches made good money."
"Our customers, however, reacted to that. They went looking elsewhere in countries like France, Italy, and Denmark. We then had ten weeks with very low export figures," Kees says. "It wasn't until around Easter that trade resumed, and then things went very quickly. In a short time prices climbed considerably and a lot of trade was done. That's why our cold stores were already empty on June 1st."
Looking ahead to the new season, Kees says the crops look good. "There seem to be more early carrots, and the earliest have already been harvested. According to the breeders, storage carrots' acreage is a bit lower. But the crops are growing well. That's thanks to the good weather and good conditions. The early organic plots in the polders are also doing well. Prospects look promising, although we can't say anything meaningful about the total supply and prices. We learned that last year," concludes Kees.
For more information:
Heegsma BV
Kees Heegsma
74 Straatweg
8531 PZ, Lemmer, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 514 569 224
Mob: +31 (0) 653 244 828
Email: info@heegsmabv.nl
Website: www.heegsmabv.nl