"Supermarkets want locally-grown herbs all year," says Raymond van der Burgh of Europe Retail Packing (ERP). That is easy during the European summer, with production, depending on weather conditions, from roughly May to October. There is, however, notes Raymond, a hiccup in the winter when local cultivation is not entirely suitable. "That's when you'd need to do vertical farming. We, though, still face several challenges in that area."
Tough competitive position
Raymond admits that high costs are one of the hurdles to using vertical farming to grow herbs. "We can use that to cultivate basil, chives, coriander, and dill. However, doing so is incredibly expensive, whereas, in the winter, it's relatively cheap to import products like coriander and dill from Spain. You can't compete with that. Vertical farming could, nonetheless, eventually be an alternative for basil and chives."
And according to Raymond, while retailers are focusing on cutting back on flying in goods, that is hard to avoid, especially with basil and chives. "Outside of our summer production in the Netherlands, we switch to products from Morocco or Spain in the winter. But, weather conditions in those countries are also unpredictable, leading to insufficient basil and chive cultivation. Those need a stable climate, which you don't find in Morocco or Spain. That's why we rely heavily on Kenya and Ethiopia for basil and chives," he says.
Shelf life
Colleague Omer Kamp points out another issue with vertically farmed herbs: their short shelf life. "Fresh herbs are like people. With vertical or hydroponic cultivation, you give the plant everything it needs. It experiences no stress and is pampered like a baby. When the plant is then removed from those conditions, things like temperature, humidity, and light suddenly change. The plant isn't used to that, and that impacts its shelf life." Omer and Raymond, thus, conclude that vertical farming is, for now, unsuitable for herbs.
Inspired by cooking shows
On the bright side, fresh herb consumption is, undoubtedly, on the rise, says Omer. That is helped, he believes, by the growing number of cooking shows. Still, Omer notes that increasing consumption does not automatically translate into a higher fresh herb supply. He sees challenges that will significantly affect the fresh market. Extreme weather and stricter requirements are complicating cultivation, which heightens the risk of unbalanced supply and demand. Yet, their global network and years of experience mean Omer and Raymond can guarantee product reliability, even in the face of climate adversity.
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urope Retail Packing
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