The steep fall in tomato prices slowed last week. The VBT average prices come out at over 1.08 euros for 1 kg of loose tomatoes and just under 1.40 euros for vine tomatoes. With that, prices are still above average and are also higher than in recent years in early November. The same goes for cucumber and pepper.
Prices of tomatoes, top: loose, bottom: vine.
Even for the cucumber price in week 44 at the Federation of Belgian Horticultural Cooperatives, prices are above the five-year average. What's hot? The average price jumped up to 75.7 euro cents each. A very high price for the time of year, when although the lights are back on for some growers, most of the cucumbers still come from southern Europe and North Africa.
Last year, a high VBT price level for cucumbers was also achieved, but then only at the end of November. The previous years could not match this price spike at all.
Cucumber prices
The average price for peppers, if we lump all colors together, is also above the five-year average. Last week, the price of green peppers doubled, and the price of red also rose slightly to 96.7 euro cents per kilo on average. The average price for yellow came in sharply lower at 49.1 euro cents.
Like the cucumber price, the price for the other salad vegetable, lettuce, also rose. The average price for a head of lettuce in early November was 57 euro cents per head.
Like lettuce, strawberries are also coming out of the greenhouses again. The average price for week 44 comes to 8.69 per kilo. A price last achieved in 2016 in early November. Elsanta is doing even better at over 9.38 euros.
Sjraar Hulsman, business development manager at Frankort&Koning, points out elsewhere on this channel that there is always demand for strawberries in November. "What plays into this is that in October and November, the Netherlands and Belgium are the only suppliers on the European market."
Price of strawberries
All figures can be checked here: www.vlaanderen.be/landbouwcijfers.
The VBT figures for week 44 can be seen here for fruit and vegetables.