In calendar week 44, the first chicory sprouts from new organic roots were delivered. "Although the general raw material situation is said to be rather tight, we are pleased with the good root harvest," reports Fabian Borgwald from the Lower Saxony-based organic company Engemann Bio eG. "At our main location, we produce chicory roots on around ten hectares and were able to finish the harvest on November 13th, a little later than usual, but still with good results in terms of quantity and quality. The first shoots in the growing facility were also quite homogenous and mostly met the desired unit weight of between 170 and 250 grams. In this respect, the new season has got off to a very encouraging start at the production level."
However, the market situation has been rather restrained recently, Borgwald continues. "Due to the modest demand from the natural food trade, our primary market, we are currently only operating at 60 percent capacity in the forcing plant." According to the company, this is also partly due to the continuing inflation and price sensitivity. This is because organic chicory is comparatively quite expensive compared to its conventional counterpart. "Current prices are around 20 percent higher than last year. These are prices that we as producers can manage quite well. After all, we must not forget that we have to charge a certain minimum price due to the high energy and labor costs that we incur in production." Due to the current market conditions, investments in capacities and (machine) equipment have been put on hold for the time being.
Insight into the Engemann Bio eG production facility
Winter article par excellence
Borgwald expects to see the first organic chicory promotions in the natural food trade from calendar weeks 48-49 onwards. From there, the usual curve will normally take its course. "Although most of our customers list chicory all year round, it is still considered to be the quintessential winter item. From the end of November until Christmas, sales gradually increase, but in January demand usually begins to tail off noticeably. With normal root yields, we can normally fall back on raw materials from our own cultivation until April or May of the following year. We then cover the low demand in summer with purchased roots, mainly from the Netherlands. However, the latter could become challenging due to the losses forecast for this year."
Since 2005, Engemann has primarily focussed on the production of standard white chicory. In 2022, the company also offered red chicory, but this was removed from the range again due to a lack of demand.
The future of German chicory
Despite the wet field conditions this year, the management of Engemann Bio eG is quite confident about the future. "From a production point of view, I don't see any major problems for us in the next five to ten years. We have the advantage of our own root production, which is why we have some control over the quality of the raw material. However, I see the marketing of the product as more critical. This is because we have been experiencing a slight decline in consumption for several years. The key question will therefore be how chicory consumption will develop in the coming years," Borgwald concludes.
Photo credit: Engemann Bio eG
For more information:
Fabian Borgwald
Engemann Bio eG
Zum Südholz 11
34439 Willebadessen-Eissen
Phone: 05644-98111-31
Fax: 05644-98111-69
E-Mail: [email protected]
www.engemann-bio.de