The Dutch paprika season has proved to be a disappointing one so far. “With prices hovering between 1.1 and 1.2 Euro, we are at the 2010 level. But what we want, what we need, is the 2008 level.” 
Thijs Jasperse is frontman of P8, a Dutch union representing the paprika industry. He says it is disappointing not to be at full strength at the moment. “The drop in price we experienced in September has cost us millions a week. Objectively speaking, there really shouldn’t be any reason for the decline. The sector is just suffering right now.”
“Paprika is selling, that’s not the problem. People are eating them. They’re just not fetching enough money.” According to Jasperse everybody is working very hard to keep up the quality. “In mid-August we did have some quality issues. We did everything we could to ensure that doesn’t happen again. We understand that the sector can’t afford slip-ups like that.”
Jasperse assures people that the present crop is a good one. “The coming week we’ll have some quality items on the market. Prices are doing a bit better, and we hope that the remainder of the year won’t let us down.”