This increase isn’t a complete surprise to Geert de Weert, agriculturalist and developer of new raspberry varieties. “Fifteen years ago, Wim and I started improving raspberry varieties. Our goal was to develop a variety that is appreciated by both growers and consumers. With our company Advanced Berry Breeding, we’ve marketed a number of successful free varieties, including successful Kwanza and others, such as Imara, Jambo, Kweli, Mapema, Rafiki, Shani and Wengi.
For the Dutch market, Kwanza is most beloved by growers because of its large fruit, high yield and fast picking options. With the older varieties such as Tulameen, pickers could pick 3 to 4 kilograms per hour. Kwanza was developed to be less labour intensive, among other things, and we managed this, because the average is 6 to 7 kilograms per hour. Growers can keep cost price lower as a result, and this automatically means prices for consumers also drop.”
Nel and Geert de Weert.
According to Geert, price isn’t the only factor of the rising sales of raspberries. “A large group of consumers bought raspberries a few years ago, and they had bad experiences because the fruit was too soft and didn’t have a long shelf life. In the past two years, consumers gained more faith in this fruit, because flavour, quality and shelf life went up by leaps and bounds. Buying is hardly a disappointment anymore, and they’re available year-round now. The health factor has also contributed to the rise in sales.
About eight years ago, turnover of raspberries was 100,000 euro for Veiling Zaltbommel, not enough to mention separately. Last year, turnover was more than six million euro. These figures show how much raspberries have grown. This is purely because we now have a good and usable variety for growers.”
The key to a successful raspberry production is still taking care of sales and keeping the buyer informed of the expected harvest. “When the buyer is informed, a destination can be taken care of before the fruit has been harvested. This is beneficial to the through-flow, and as a result, also to the quality of the fruit. With our company, we have a harvest location in Tanzania as well, so that we can provide our buyers with fresh raspberries year-round. As soon as these are harvested, they’ll arrive at our buyer’s in Breda in the Netherlands before noon the next day. The raspberries of our Dutch harvest also arrive at the buyer’s around noon. Despite the distance, there’s not much difference regarding through-flow. This is because we took care of our own sales before we start harvesting, and the buyer appreciates this.”
Major price differences have occurred less often as well in recent years. “In the month of May the season always starts, and prices would drop to 2 to 3 euro per kilogram. If this was followed by a period of less supply, prices would increase to 20 euro per kilogram. These extreme differences have become more stable, and that’s positive for the grower. Right now, prices are at a good level, and when there’s a large supply, prices are around 12 or 13 euro per kilogram. Due to constant supply to buyers and supermarkets, stabler prices can be paid.”
For more information about raspberry varieties:
Advanced Berry Breeding
Achterweg 58a
1424 PR De Kwakel
T: +31 683527768
E: info@abbreeding.nl
W: www.abbreeding.nl
For other information:
Kwekerij de Westerbouwing
Veilingweg 2
5328 JB, Rossum
T: +31 418512092
E: info@kwekerijdewesterbouwing.nl
W: www.kwekerijdewesterbouwing.nl