Barry Michiels of Gebroeders Michiels wholesalers had to wait a bit, but the Belgian greenhouse vegetable season seems to be slowly getting started. "Things are going well. The season is already at least a month later than normal, but the larger volumes started coming in last week," he says. Gebroeders Michiels operates mainly in German wholesale markets.
"The tomato demand isn't great yet but is beginning to rise. They're expensive, though, so people choose other products. Those prices are starting to normalize. For us as exporters, prices could drop €0.50/kg more, but I think that decline will continue in the coming weeks. Things could turn out differently, but supply is increasing, so prices will automatically stabilize too. It would be nice if the sun could come out more; that would benefit consumption."
Bell peppers are in a similar situation. "That supply, too, is starting to arrive on the market, so prices will decrease slightly. People are, thus, also buying a bit more of them. It's just that the quality is still sometimes a bit disappointing. Because the weather's been bad and they didn't have enough heat when they began growing, the fruit's growth conditions weren't optimal. However, there's enough supply of all three colors," Barry explains.
The cucumber, eggplant, and zucchini demand is currently quite good, too, he adds. "With cucumbers, there's a little too much supply. Last year was super, so more growers decided to grow cucumbers. However, now there's a little too much for nice prices. But we'll see how things go if the summer weather turns out to be beautiful. Then they'll sell like hotcakes."
Overlapping
This year, Barry sees a slight overlap between traditional winter and summer vegetables. "It's unusually cold for the time of year. As a result, many people still choose leeks and chicory, which are selling well," he says. "That supply would usually have begun seriously dropping off a month ago."
"And we'd have switched to summer vegetables, like tomatoes and cucumber. Now they overlap. Many summer vegetables are coming in now, while there are still winter vegetables. They won't, however, interfere too much with each other. Everyone's happy that we can start greenhouse vegetables again," Barry concludes.
For more information:
Barry Michiels
Gebroeders Michiels
50 Kempenare Street
2860, Sint-Katelijne-Waver, BE
Tel: +32 (0) 475 262 482
Email: barry@gebroedersmichiels.be
Website: www.gebroedersmichiels.be