"Once everyone got back into the swing of things after the summer vacation, the whole of Europe had promotions," says Dutch company VN Trading's Mike van Namen, who grows and sells mushrooms. "That led to a shortage, and Dutch mushrooms sold well. That benefits prices."
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Mike adds that the market was tougher in the first half of the year, partly because countries with much lower labor costs put pressure on prices. "In the Netherlands, growers cultivate far more mushrooms than the local market needs, so exporting is a given," he says.
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VN Trading is a true family business, and the third generation of Van Namens now stands at the helm. Mike's brothers, Bart and Roy, are also active within the company. "We grew up among the mushrooms, and it's special to continue this business together. The market is changing rapidly, and to remain future-proof, it's vital to keep taking the next step."
Mike expects more growers to stop in the coming years, often because they have no successors. "The companies that continue developing and innovating are the most future-proof," he explains. That is also why VN Trading is investing in a new building and modern harvesting systems.
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New building
The innovations in the new building, which will be ready by the end of 2025, are mainly aimed at lowering harvesting costs. According to Mike, that accounts for the bulk of cultivation costs. "The new setup uses a pull-through system supplied by Christiaens Group. It should lead to picking results that are more than one and a half times higher than the current situation."
In the cultivation areas, harvesters stand on platforms, and the beds are directed toward them from the picking side, says van Namen. "They don't have to keep moving around and can, thus, work more efficiently. We're still investigating whether placing the products in the packaging can be further automated. So, the system is a semi-automated intermediate step, which can ultimately be expanded to full robotization. That could roughly double the picking speed," he points out.
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The future
"Besides increased efficiency, the new building ensures all processes are centrally located and optimally organized. We're also taking steps in the area of sustainability, focusing on circular production and energy savings."
"We believe in the future of mushrooms. It's a healthy, circularly produced product, and global demand is only increasing. With this new building, we, as the third generation, are taking a major step forward and ensuring that VN Trading is ready for the coming decades," Mike concludes.
For more information:
Mike van Namen
VN Trading
Tel.:+31 (0)85 273 79 84
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.vntrading.nl
