"There's never a dull moment in the fresh produce sector, but the current weather conditions are creating some truly unique situations," explains Leon van den Hombergh from the Dutch company Frankort&Koning. "Take, for instance, open-field vegetables that have been trading at record high prices with low availability for weeks. Consumers are used to a €3 retail price, apiece, for cauliflower."
"Challenging situations are arising, availability-wise, with products like leeks and Brussels sprouts, too. In other years, we'd have quite a few promotions running at this time, but that's almost impossible now. Leeks are selling at around €1.50/kg, while there are hardly any sprouts. These high prices don't hinder sales. There's so little product available that simply meeting obligations is enough to keep prices this high," says Leon.
"It's unusual for this situation to go on for so long. And it's not just an issue in the Netherlands, but in Germany, France, and Belgium as well. That forces buyers to look for other products. Fortunately, the weather in Spain is very calm and even sunny, so their open-field products like iceberg lettuce and broccoli are reasonably available in good volumes. There's also quite a lot of Spanish fruit-vegetables. European retailers are, thus, increasingly promoting Spanish goods, sidelining the 'problematic items'."
"We're also dealing with a rainy situation in Brazil, which hasn't been an issue for a long time. That will bring additional challenges in the coming weeks, as most of Central America still has to get going. So, especially for yellow melons and watermelons, the supply will remain tight. On top of that, we're confronted with the Red Sea situation. Things like Indian grapes are arriving late, and it's also affecting products such as Chinese ginger," Leon continues.
"All in all, there are challenges everywhere. The supermarkets have certainly realized that risk and cultivation area diversification is becoming increasingly important."
"That's good for us, thanks to our connections with growers across the globe. I'm proud that we could keep growing in 2023. We're confidently looking forward to facing all of 2024's challenges," Leon concludes.
Frankort&Koning will be exhibiting at Fruit Logistica again: Hall 1.2 - A-34.
For more information:
Leon van den Hombergh
Frankort & Koning
Tel: +31 (0) 773 897 202
Mob: +31 (0) 651 238 770
l.vdhombergh@frankort.nl
www.frankort.nl