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Rolf Vetter, general manager of Gemüsebau Vetter on pumpkin direct sale from farm:

"Pricing is limited because the market is flooded with the produce"

The drought at times caused severely limited growth of pumpkins, according to farmer Rolf Vetter, who grows both Hokkaido, butternut, muscat and spaghetti pumpkins on his farm in Riedhausen. "We started selling them two weeks ago. Sixty to 70 percent of the demand is for the Hokkaido and 20 percent for the nutmeg squash, while the rest is for the other varieties."


Part of the sales team at Gemüsebau Vetter.

According to Vetter, the current price per kilo is between 2.60 and 2.80 euros, which is the same price level as last year. "Our customers are aware of the tight situation regarding existing challenges. After all, the costs in horticulture in the field of special crops for fuel oil and machinery have risen sharply. One should not reduce the prices of the last year, from a business point of view, but still further, otherwise this could cause further problems. It's also important in this to keep a close eye on your own customer structure."

Production costs for pumpkins have increased by 15 percent at his farm. "Pumpkin is a product you can produce extensively, especially since it's also a crop where you don't have to use a lot of crop protection. You also need relatively little labor to harvest it. Pricing is limited, of course, because the market is flooded with product. Especially on social media, you find pictures of pumpkins all the time."

Vetter says interest in spaghetti squash is limited. "Hokkaido and nutmeg pumpkins are common. By and large, the specialty varieties are harder to market, just looking at the prices. Specialty pumpkins are also definitely more in the direct marketer segment, albeit in limited areas - with the associated costs."

Rising interest in beetroot and yellow beetroot
In addition to pumpkins, Vetter is also offering his last tomatoes and cucumbers, as well as the first batches of lamb's lettuce and collard greens in small quantities. "We have everything from eggplant to zucchini in our assortment. Fortunately, we have decided to limit cauliflower production. At the same time, we're noticing that interest in red and yellow beets is increasing, and we're expanding acreage accordingly."

For more information:
Rolf Vetter
Gemüsebau Vetter
Weihermühle 11
88377 Riedhausen
Telefon: +49 7587 359
E-Mail: info@gemuesebau-vetter.de
https://www.gemuesebau-vetter.de