Last year, we published an article about 80-year-old Sjaak Verploegen from Neer, who had put his fruit-growing business up for sale. The grower, who cultivated 3 hectares of raspberries, 1 hectare of redcurrants, 0.5 hectares of blackberries, and a small plot of plums, was forced to stop due to his age. In the meantime, a buyer has been found for the fruit farm: Berry Farm Group from nearby Roggel.
"The ball is rolling," says Sil Moonen, who grows blueberries on around 40 hectares in central Limburg. Berry Farm Group is converting the farm into a strawberry operation under mini-tunnels. "My daughter Kristel and son-in-law Yves have bought the new farm and will run it. We are fully converting it for strawberry cultivation, with part of the area entering production in spring 2026 and the rest a year later."
"We see a lot of potential in strawberry cultivation. In Germany, many older strawberry growers are struggling with a lack of successors and labour, leading some to stop or switch to other crops. As a result, we see good opportunities to supply the German market and have already made agreements with a German customer," Sil explains. "Up until mid-August, Germany is a strong market for strawberries. After that, the local supply of plums and peaches, among others, increases, and we shift our focus to the UK market for our strawberries."
Although Sil, who is also active in Spanish blueberry cultivation, previously indicated that he would rather look to Mediterranean regions for berry expansion, he sees things differently when it comes to strawberries. "Dutch strawberries have great potential and are in a different segment from Spanish ones. You can also see that when Dutch greenhouse strawberries come onto the market, customers switch immediately, regardless of the price."
"Especially the new varieties with high yields and good picking performance have great potential in our view. We plan to grow the varieties Favori and Karima," Sil adds. The fact that the farm already has a permit to accommodate 30 workers is a valuable advantage. "We are going to build new housing for them. Then, of course, finding people with cultivation experience and enough labour will still be the biggest challenge."
For more information:
Sil Moonen
Berryfarm.nl
Mortel 27
6088 AH Roggel
Tel: +31 (0)475 494727
Mob.: +31 (0)6 532 88 523
[email protected]
www.berryfarm.nl
