The new Chinese garlic season is about to start again. In June, the first containers will be shipped to Europe. After the previous bizarre season, prospects are very different now. “After last year’s extreme prices – everything you had in stock just became more expensive – cultivation expanded by 30 per cent, and on top of that, the weather circumstances have also been good. The Chinese planted garlic between the paving bricks,” Jan van der Ben from the Sevenhuijsen company jokes.
“This results in much lower prices. The new harvest is now being offered for a third of the old harvest’s price. The prices for the old harvest are now at a level between 28 and 30 euro for a 10-kilogram box, depending on size and packaging, while the new harvest is delivered here for 10 euro,” Jan says. “I think prices will drop even lower in the coming time, after all, a 30 per cent expansion isn’t nothing. That’s why we are making sure not to start the garlic too early.”
“All in all, we are facing another challenging season. You never know how it’ll turn out. The Chinese are such enormous gamblers. Last year, this led to prices of 80,000 to 100,000 dollar per container, it was ridiculous,” Jan continues. Yet deep down he would prefer a repeat of last year. “A Chinese exporter is always willing to send a 15,000 euro container, when part of it is paid in advance, for example, but with prices like last year, it becomes impossible to finance for so-called opportunity importers, and there’s much less competition on the market.”
Trading company G. Sevenhuijsen VOF – earlier this year the company was granted a Royal Warrant – exports the garlic primarily to the Caribbean. “We supply customers who can use entire containers of garlic directly from China. Another part is first brought to the Netherlands,” Jan concludes.
For more information:
G. Sevenhuysen V.O.F.
Tel: +31 (0)226 320 224
Fax: +31 226 316 166
[email protected]
www.sevenhuysen.nl