At Biesheuvel Garlic in Slootdorp, the harvest of fresh Dutch garlic is in full swing. "We are in the middle of harvesting", says Arjan Biesheuvel. He brought the first crate to top chef Onno Kokmeijer last week. According to the grower, the coming weeks will show what the harvest will look like. "At first it was dry, but a few weeks ago we had 70 mm of rain here. However, the last few weeks it started to get dry again."
For Arjan, there was a period where he was unsure whether he could start harvesting. The garlic grower had invested in a new harvesting machine, but delivery problems with parts of the machine almost put a spanner in the works. An employee of Pink Innovation came to the rescue. As a result, there is now a black machine driving around in North Holland with a striking pink drain. "It's quite a sight," laughs Arjan.
"We look forward to the season with confidence. The whole chain was empty, so we can start supplying people with fresh garlic again. For that matter, I do not expect too many people in the first few weeks. Germany in particular is becoming more and more self-sufficient. Once the German growers are loose, then we can really get going," says the grower, who sells to exporters, packers and supermarkets in the Netherlands and Belgium.
In the Netherlands, the acreage remains fairly stable for the time being. "It is quite labour- and capital-intensive to get into garlic cultivation. The prices are currently at the same level as last year, but the costs are much higher. Customers expect you to supply all year round, so you have to invest in CA cells, among other things. That is why there are not many new players," says Arjan.
The first garlic for top chef Onno Kokmeijer
Arjan does not grow organic garlic himself, but he does buy it from fellow growers to process into fresh garlic puree. "The puree is becoming a bigger and bigger item and we continue to develop our range of fresh garlic products. That way we control the chain from cultivation to end product. And we continue to promote our product to the max. Every day I still tell people that fresh garlic doesn't make you smell and that our product is essentially different from the two bulbs in a net."
"Partly thanks to our participation in Faia Food, we are making significant headway in this area. I am very enthusiastic about this collaboration. With four very different companies - besides Biesheuvel also Waterman Onions, Roussel Onions and Sawari Fresh are part of this consortium - we are setting up something beautiful together. The cooperation immediately creates opportunities to further develop our flavour products. Basically, we are creating a completely new product category for retail and foodservice."
For more information:
Arjan Biesheuvel
Biesheuvel Knoflook
Westerterpweg 35
1774 NL Slootdorp
+31 (0)227-577035
arjan@biesheuvelknoflook.nl
www.biesheuvelknoflook.nl