"Difference in price between French and Belgian tomatoes bigger than usual"

"There is nothing to complain about at the moment," says Guy de Meyer of Demargro. "At the moment we are exporting a lot to France and this is going well. Every day, once again, many trucks go there. The demand for most products can be said to be good." Among others, tomatoes are exported to France. "The striking thing this season is that there is continually a reasonable difference between the prices of the French and Belgian tomatoes. The difference is usually around 15/20 cents, but has been higher."

French at a higher level

"On the 21st of August the price was between 53 and 55 cents, and in France it was 70 to 75 cents. The difference has been at least 15 cents all weekend. Normally there's a difference between the prices, but it was higher than usual this season. This is due to various reasons. The French seem to have agreed on more advertising deals with the retailers and this means some are held back and this sometimes creates shortages. The temperature also plays a role and due to this there was less production when it was colder. The prices have been varied all season."

Guy names another example. "Around three weeks ago there was a big promotion on in France and the price in France was around 1.80 and in Belgium it was around 1.20. That's a difference of 60 cents. At the moment the Belgian price is okay, but I expect this to pick up in the next month. The holiday period is almost over, so the prospects are good."

For more information:
Guy de Meyer
Demargro BVBA
Tombrugstraat 11
8850 Ardooie, België
Tel: +32 (0)51 74 70 75
Fax:+32 51 74 58 11
www.demargro.be