Kees Havenaar is responsible for the sales of Spanish glasshouse vegetables of Frutas Luna. "This year we pay more attention to cherry tomatoes and also have employed somebody for this. We are also extending our organic activities. A number of our growers now are able to pack in their fields, which has been happening with aubergines for a while. We also have the King brand this year and that goes extremely well. Clients really start asking for this now."
"We just had a week of dark and rainy weather behind us. Rain in any case increases the price as no harvesting is done. The cucumbers bend in dark weather and throw off their fruit. We will have the results of that in two week's time. What will happen in the market is rather dependent on what the supermarkets will do. Supply will not be less. The price may possibly decrease, but not too much," Kees expects.
The main products for Frutas Luna are peppers. "The price of peppers also increased drastically, because the rain came at the same time as the drop in Dutch red peppers. In the meantime we are back at a normal price level. Sales of green and yellow peppers went well for a short while, but the market is very quiet now, but that is a matter of waiting till the large Dutch supply is over," the trader continues. "I expect prices for green and yellow peppers to increase next week. The yellow ones because of the simple reason that growers do not pick them and I expect England to want green next week."
"Also the price of aubergines went sky-high because of the bad weather. Now the Dutch product is at an end as well and that is good for the growers, because up to now the aubergine season was not very good. Supply will be a lot less during the coming period and there is a good demand from Russia now. Tomato prices are normal. Mainly from Morocco competition will come in the area of (cherry)tomatoes and beans. But Israel is in my opinion a much bigger competitor."
Although the economic crisis in Spain is the order of the day, Kees expects the fruit and vegetable sector to be able to get through this. "People will go on eating. Obviously one wants to pay less all the time, but eating is a necessity. The disadvantage is only that the Spanish treasury is empty and companies with VAT purchases and only VAT sales must sometimes wait a long time before it is refunded by the tax authorities. And banks are nor particularly interested in loans. To supply clients with insurance is therefore a requirement. There are already those who had to close their doors and because of that one is still partly covered."