The cucumber price in week 34 again plunged below the five-year average at the auctions of the Verbond van Belgische Tuinbouwcoöperaties (Federation of Belgian Horticultural Cooperatives). The unit price stood at 25.7 euro cents. In the past eight years, the price was lower only in 2017. The strawberry price is also dropping sharply after a price spike. Tomato and pepper prices did remain above the five-year average.
After a very bad spring with cucumber prices far below average for a long time, prices did find their way up from week 25 onwards. In week 27 and week 32, prices even peaked well above the price average for a while but then dropped just as fast again to below the price average. After the peak in week 32, prices fell even more sharply than after the peak in week 27.
Normally, towards September, prices should actually rise. There was no sign of that at the VBT average price last week. The middle price for organic cucumbers is stable, though. Except for a dip in week 18, the price is invariably well above average. In recent weeks, the price has even risen slightly, to 72 euro cents each in week 34.
The average price for loose tomatoes fell just below the five-year average in week 34. July and August showed below-average prices more often. In week 34, loose tomatoes recorded 61.5 euro cents. Vine tomatoes went up to 70 euro cents per kilo and remained above the five-year average.
The same goes for the pepper price. Here, the price in week 33 dipped briefly below the five-year average due to the absence of the price peak that was sometimes seen in week 33 in previous years. In week 34 of this year, a kilogram price of over 1.19 euros was realized.
The strawberry price for week 34 came to just over 2.01 euros per kilo. For the first time since week 25, the price here fell below the five-year average again. For quite some time, there was little available, but now the summer crops are up and running.
All figures can be checked here: www.vlaanderen.be/landbouwcijfers.