The German spring onion and spring pea season is still in full swing at AGF-Online in Barendrecht. "We still have a lot of product in the fields. The quality is great. Many employees have already left for their home countries to celebrate Christmas, but we still have enough to keep going nicely. As long as the weather stays like this, we'll continue. At least another month, maybe even longer," says Dennis-Jan van der Meij.
"Sales have been excellent this year. In terms of prices, 2025 wasn't a remarkable year because supply was too strong and, almost unfortunately, there were hardly any problems, as everything grew well everywhere. We did experience some mildew and thrips, but overall, it was a good quality year," says the fresh produce trader, who supplies wholesalers, importers, supermarket organisations, catering suppliers, and institutions.
"We keep the very best lots for customers who want long onions. The lesser ones go to customers in the shortened onion segment. Especially in Germany, we have substantial customers for the shortened onions, while the long ones almost all go to the Netherlands. Thanks to this mix, we always have nice onions. If a plot produces a little less, those onions go to another market. Furthermore, we always bunch the long onions extra heavy. The employees know that for the Netherlands, one extra stalk is needed per bunch. More and more end users are discovering that our onions are just a bit heavier."
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"We definitely see the popularity of spring onions still rising. More and more recipes and dishes featuring spring onions are being published, and we clearly notice that in sales. Spring peas are still lagging somewhat behind," Dennis-Jan adds. He doesn't see much competition from Egyptian spring onions. "Egypt is gradually disappearing from the market. The distance is simply too great. If all goes well, the Egyptian product arrives in only eight days, but we've also experienced transit times of 16 days. That makes shelf life too much of a problem."
"Also, when importing from Egypt, there are too many steps in between where things can go wrong. Multiple ports, shipping companies, customs, transporters, you name it. If one link fails to cooperate, you're immediately in trouble. And since transport costs keep rising, it's becoming less and less interesting. To keep costs down, people are shortening the onions more and more and cramming more product onto each pallet. But that hardly leaves the onions looking as they should. We've sent Father over many times to sort things out in Egypt, but it just doesn't work. To avoid any indignant discussions, these are simply our findings."
"Besides, the question is whether it even makes sense to bring a fresh product from over 5,000 kilometres away. People don't want that anymore. From Germany, after harvesting, the product can be at our organisation within eight hours, loaded at 16:00, and anchored in Barendrecht by midnight. With German products, we handle sowing, harvesting, packaging, and transport all in-house. Our colleagues start daily just after midnight in Barendrecht, where all German produce is unloaded and cooled down to below 7 degrees. Everything, even the pumpkins. This demonstrably gives a longer shelf life of several days, and we still deliver everything to the end customer before 7:00 a.m.," Dennis-Jan says.
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"In addition, we start the German season earlier and earlier. This year, it began as early as 1 March! And we're going longer and longer, too. With a bit of luck, we'll finish somewhere between St Nicholas and Christmas this year, especially since winters are hardly real winters anymore. Like cucumbers, German spring onions could easily become available year-round," the fresh produce trader continues. "Furthermore, in our view, a country like Morocco is the best alternative for those few winter months. With partners who buy here in summer and have Morocco lined up in winter, we do fine business both ways. In two days, we can have a truck from Morocco at our doorstep."
He says the shrinking crop protection package poses a major challenge for the coming years. "On one hand, it's good because it forces everyone to think and innovate more. Everything has to be cleaner these days. But if you've got things well under control, then you'll be the one competing in the years ahead," Dennis-Jan says.
"Water is also becoming an increasing global challenge. Unlimited pumping from the Rhine is no longer possible, or as we say, 'Der Rhein', because you now get specific time slots for it. It's usually only allowed when there's little freight traffic on the Rhine, for instance, late Saturday afternoon. Partly for this reason, we've cleared land and created several additional water basins, which we can fill quickly. Father Kees is at the farm almost year-round and keeps a close eye on everything together with his German partner. Also, since he can reach it by boat, he enjoys spending time there, but that's just a side note," Van der Meij Jr. concludes with a laugh.
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