Many outdoor vegetables had a difficult start to sales this year. "Until June, cauliflower and broccoli prices were very moderate. After that, the market picked up due to good export demand," says Robert Vogel of AGF-Direct in Zwaagdijk. "Cauliflower prices fell again this week due to a large supply, but broccoli sales in particular are still going strong. These really stand out in terms of average pricing."
© Izak Heijboer | FreshPlaza.com
Robert Vogel, Dennis van Tricht and Chris Groot of AGF-Direct
Robert still expects to offer Dutch cauliflower and broccoli until early November. "September and October are traditionally important months. Fortunately, we see strong market demand, ranging from Scandinavia to Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, and Poland. Although Dutch acreage is not that significant when compared to the total European crop, the moment something happens in Europe, people always know how to find the Netherlands quickly, and the price can suddenly shoot up."
The supply of Romanesco has fallen sharply at AGF-Direct this year. "Last year, that market was really very poor, so two of our growers decided to stop producing this crop. It has now become a very small item. Coloured cauliflower also remains very much a niche product. It mainly finds its way to foodservice customers."
© AGF Direct
"In the chicory market, we are now seeing an upturn, but these prices certainly don't make up for the season yet. Rather, we are going from very bad to slightly less bad," Robert says. "The same applies to iceberg lettuce. That market was really very poor until about four weeks ago and has now improved somewhat, but this is still far from compensating for the low prices at the beginning of the season."
The biggest challenge for outdoor vegetable growers, however, according to Robert, lies in the increasingly limited resources available. "The withdrawal of Movento and Karate remains a hot topic. By now, almost every iceberg lettuce grower in the Netherlands is dealing with aphid pressure, but it seems that hardly anyone realizes this yet, and soon it will apply to all outdoor vegetables. In this way, crops are being destroyed. If nothing is done, in two years, everyone will be wondering why there are no more outdoor vegetables or why they have become so incredibly expensive. We are on the verge of that now."
For more information:
Robert Vogel
AGF Direct
Tel: +31 (0)85 30 32 633
[email protected]
www.agfdirect.nl
