"Poland increasingly formidable competitor in loose tomatoes"

It is very quiet on the tomato market at the moment. "Almost everybody expected a good week, but up to now it has been a disappointment," Jonathan Vandesande of exporter Weiss, Belgium, says. "The holidays are over. A logical result would be that the market should increase again, but that is not yet the case."The focus of Weiss is on delivery to Germany, but there are exports to other countries as well. There are Eastern Europe, Russia, Spain and Italy. At the moment our clients buy less than expected. The price of loose tomatoes was less than 60 cents last week. On Monday this was slightly higher, about 65 cents, but today (Friday) we are back at the same level as at the end of last week," the trader mentions. "Also tomatoes on the vine unexpectedly decreased in Belgium even more than in the Netherlands."

Poland a competitor

"Another reason for the smaller demand is Poland. Every year the production of loose tomatoes is larger there and they sell these at much lower prices. Also with other products the competition with Poland is becoming more severe. Belgian and Dutch greenhouse vegetable growers find Poland to be a serious opponent, as they are also involved in the same markets, such as Russia and Germany. Nevertheless clients do not always choose the Polish product. Often they take a combination: Belgian because of the quality and Polish because of the price. It is therefore a generally known fact that the Belgian and also the Dutch tomatoes are of a very good quality. These are also competitors as the quality for many buyers is of the same standard."

"We will have to wait and see what will happen now. If supply remains large the price will remain the same and possibly a little lower. Or demand should come from an unexpected buyer."

For more information:
J. Weiss bvba
Jonathan Vandesande
52, Kempenarestraat
B-2860 Sint-Katelijne-Waver
Tel.: +32 15 55 20 11
Fax: +32 15 55 30 02
www.weiss.be