Less than ten cents
In terms of prices, we reached a low point when they dropped below ten cents. That is really terrible. We are trying to get out of the negative." According to him the top segment still has some good prices. "They do everything by hand and the forests are more uniform there. This is done with one grower and people pay more for this kind of service, around 40 cents. The grower needs people to pay more because there is more labour associated with this kind of work. Normally he should be around 50 cents and we should be around 30 cents." Yesterday one fourth of the volume was supplied at the auction. "We were a bit above the ten cent mark, but this is still a really bad price. We are completely in the dark."
Niche products
According to Marcel it is often the case that the market situation of many small products can change at any moment in Belgium. "It is very much up and down. One day you are easily selling the product and the next day you can't get people to touch it. This is not including a mass product that can suddenly have a double production, this is about a niche product.
He says that fourteen days ago the market situation was still normal. "We were doing pretty well: a good begining to the year without any extreme cases. I'm afraid that it will take a while before it starts getting better. But, since there is no way to predict what will happen, it could also go the other way and suddenly improve. In the next coming weeks all we can do is wait and hoop it gets better," says Marcel.
Marcel van Assche and his wife have been active in radish cultivation since 2010. They have 1 hectare of land for their work. Their products are packaged in standard EPS containers and delivered by BelOrta.
For more information:
Marcel van Assche
Gromatco
+32 (0)-15316372