Bel Impex has been active as a wholesaler for exotic vegetables and fruit since 1992. The exotics specialist has a location at the Forepark in Den Haag, which mainly functions as a DC for the supermarkets, and a location at the Food Centre Amsterdam, where mainly the retailers, market people and smaller shopkeepers come to buy their exotics. A move to a new location is planned for the location in Den Haag next year.
Vainitas
Ernst Delgman is the company leader in Amsterdam and sees the sales of exotics rise considerable, especially among the native Dutch. "More and more supermarkets are bringing our exotics into their assortment. The people come back from holiday and want to eat the products they ate there in Holland. It is also a noticeable tendency of the Dutch to eat 'hotter' food.
Heat
Bel Impex has its own cultivation locations in the Dominican Republic and also importers straight from Thailand, Costa Rica and Honduras. A large part of the volume comes from the Dominican Republic. A trade risk is that you sometimes have to deal with extreme weather conditions. "You are very dependent on the weather. Long beans have been very scarce over the last few weeks due to the heat. You can import them from other countries, but the quality is often not as good. And it could be two months before the new crops are ready. This scarcity is an irritation to us and our customers," says Ernst.
Butternut squash and cassava
Besides long beans, sopropo, peppers, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, cassava and ginger also belong to to Bel Impex's top sellers. Although the company has grown certain exotic products in Dutch greenhouses in the past, Ernst says it is not always profitable. "We now grow certain peppers in Dutch greenhouses in the summer, and they are often cheaper than those from Uganda or the Dominican Republic. Products like amchoi or paksoi can be grown here too, but specific products can be a lot harder. If you want to grow tayer leaf or long beans in the Netherlands in the winter, there are very high heating costs. It's not doable. But many Chinese consumers choose the Dutch product in the summer. It looks very different, but people like the taste."
Christmas
Traditionally, the sales of the exotics are on a back burner in the summer, but according to Ernst the sales through the supermarkets has been surprisingly good this year. "The market trade is almost stationary. Usually, it gets going after February until the summer, and then it's in full swing from the end of September with a peak around Christmas. We have seen the exotics consumption among the Dutch around Christmas decrease over the last few years. They'll have herbs with their dinner, but not in the volumes they did before. Apparently, they're going 'back to the basics'.
In the past Bel Impex exported a lot, but after some bad experience, the focus is solely on the Netherlands. "It's difficult to play an important role in some countries. Germany is a huge market, but there are a lot of Chinese or Vietnamese players who import themselves. The price level is also a lot lower. The export can be 1 to 1.50 Euro difference per kilo compared to air freight. The costs are very high here."
Long beans
Direct or not
It's no secret that the exotics from the countries of origin are often on the NVWA list concerning residues and crop protection agents. According to Ernst Bel Impex knows how to tackle a lot of problems by taking cultivation into their own hands. "We have educated local people well and the growers are controlled well. Sometimes one is stubborn, but they fall through almost immediately, if not there, certainly here. The products are checked before shipment, and again on arrival and when they get to us. We also have physical checks two to three times a week. There is an export ban on certain Thai products. Last year we would sometimes import them through other countries, but it resulted in so many concerns that we stopped."
Long beans
Direct or not
It's no secret that the exotics from the countries of origin are often on the NVWA list concerning residues and crop protection agents. According to Ernst Bel Impex knows how to tackle a lot of problems by taking cultivation into their own hands. "We have educated local people well and the growers are controlled well. Sometimes one is stubborn, but they fall through almost immediately, if not there, certainly here. The products are checked before shipment, and again on arrival and when they get to us. We also have physical checks two to three times a week. There is an export ban on certain Thai products. Last year we would sometimes import them through other countries, but it resulted in so many concerns that we stopped."
Ginger
Bel Impex is FSCC 22000 certified and the suppliers have Global Gap or similar certificates. Bel Impex wants to define itself by supplying uniform quality all year round. "We are slightly more expensive than our colleagues, but have almost year round production and a uniform quality and the retail is sensitive to this. I don't want to be arrogant, but we have hardly any competition in the retail segment. In an early stage we set our automation to supplying chain stores. This was a large investment, but we're now benefiting from it. This is why I look toward to the future with optimism. The exotic sales are still going up."
For more information:
Bel Impex
Foodcenter Amsterdam / 171-2
Jan van Galenstraat 4
1051 KM Amsterdam
Tel: 31 (0)20 6815205
Fax: 31 (0)20 4003229
ernst@belimpex.nl
www.belimpex.nl