"The weather is still too mild for any real upturn in demand for field vegetables," says Mike Glas of Glas Groenten from Broek op Langedijk. "Sales are moving, but nothing spectacular. You quickly lose a pallet a day per item."
"Most of our sales are under contract, but on the day, trade prices are very low. For example, prices for sprouts outside contracts are especially weak. Growth has been strong across the board, so we have a lot of large sizes. The price for coarse B-sprouts is therefore extremely low, while the smaller sprouts still hold a reasonable price simply because fewer of them grow on the stem."
"With red and white cabbage, we see the same situation. Large cabbages are plentiful, but small retail sizes are very scarce. Size 80-100, for example, is hardly available," continues the outdoor vegetable trader. "The kale market is also very quiet. It really needs to get colder."
The shrinking crop protection toolkit also remains a concern, he says. "Growers will soon no longer be allowed to use Movento, but if we have a warm autumn, that could lead to significant pressure from whitefly and cabbage moth. Hopefully, alternative products will become available, but for now, there are none." According to Mike, buyers are becoming aware of this. "They hear the same thing from the large growers in lettuce, spinach, and endive," he says.
For now, he is mainly hoping for colder weather. "We have everything from Brussels sprouts to wax carrots and from celeriac to turnips to supply a wide range of customers, but at the moment we have more capacity than we need. When everything is abundant, anyone can manage. When things get tighter, that is when specialisation becomes more important."
For more information:
Mike Glas
Glas Groenten
Dulleweg 36
1721 PM Broek op Langedijk
+31 (0) 226 313 981
[email protected]
www.glas-groenten.nl
