With the dark days of winter, pumpkin season is in full swing at Jeroen Pompoen, the company run by grower Jeroen De Ridder. "We can't complain. Sales have been good so far. The yield might be a bit lower, but storage is much better than last year," says the grower from Sint-Gillis-Waas in Flanders.
Together with his wife Ilse, Jeroen runs a farming operation that cultivates 25 different varieties of pumpkins across approximately 64 hectares, focusing mainly on Hokkaido and butternut (bottle pumpkins). "These store very well. While yields were lower than expected, losses in Hokkaido are now at 2-3%, and butternut is showing a similar rate. That's a big improvement compared to last year. I think this is largely due to sowing at staggered times this year because spring weather conditions were poor. Normally, we sow everything between mid-May and 1 June, but this year we spread it out, sowing part around 20 May, part on 7 June, 14 June, and even as late as 28 June. This allowed us to stay on track with our harvest schedule and avoid being late. In the past, harvesting overly ripe pumpkins caused storage issues, forcing us to sell quickly. If demand was low, prices suffered. This year, we've been able to spread sales more effectively."
Peak Hokkaido
That strategy has paid off this season, Jeroen explains. "At the start of the season, sales were very strong. The last two weeks have been quieter, but I expect it to pick up by the end of this week. Sales typically dip at the end of November and the beginning of December, but we're already seeing some orders for the coming days. We don't really experience a holiday rush anymore. There's a peak in Hokkaido sales at the end of October, and towards Christmas, sales increase by about 20% compared to a normal week, but not much more than that."
The company primarily serves the Belgian domestic market. "There's a noticeable difference between Hokkaido and butternut. During our season, from late August to January, demand for butternut increases as September progresses stays steady until the end of the season, and continues through the year until spring. For Hokkaido, demand fluctuates more throughout the season. Still, sales are strong, with 1.5 million kilos sold so far, so we can't complain."
Challenges in extending sales
"We only start exporting Hokkaido towards the end of the season because domestic demand drops after New Year. That's unfortunate, but by then, most of the Belgian crop is also gradually sold out. Consumers forget it's still available in smaller quantities, and the trade doesn't pick it up either. Hokkaido is very seasonal, so we turn to export markets at that point. The fact that it's only after New Year might not be a bad thing this year, as I hear that demand hasn't been as strong as expected so far. However, export markets can sometimes pick up suddenly and unexpectedly."
Jeroen and Ilse De Ridder - Heyrman
"There are efforts to boost sales after January, but it's difficult from a grower's perspective," Jeroen continues. "If I wanted to, I could sell out by mid-December this year. To extend the season, there also needs to be enough product available. You can try to store it until March, but as we saw last year, that can sometimes be disappointing. Should growers take the risk of losing a lot of product? With the right promotions, it might work. Visibility has a big impact on sales—sometimes even more than price. We've seen volumes increase by 30-40% due to better visibility. But not every year is suitable for this.
Ultimately, we plan to supply pumpkins until February, but likely not much longer. March is typically a quiet period for us, after which we start focusing on fennel in April. That's the cycle we follow," Jeroen concludes.
For more information:
Jeroen De Ridder
Jeroen Pompoen
Heerweg 3
9170 Sint - Pauwels, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)484 73 86 64
[email protected]
www.jeroenpompoen.be