Whereas other years mushroom sales can sometimes slump during the summer, this year they remain pretty level. "Whether it's because Poland has pushed up the price a bit or the supply of the other fruits and vegetables is lower due to the weather extremes, I don't know, but it's very different from other years," says Mark Joosten of VN Trading from Velddriel.
Because, although mushrooms have been on the rise in recent years as a meat substitute, Mark says customers don't really see mushrooms as a barbecue product. "In really summery weather, people are more likely to go to the pool or the terrace and opt for a quick bite. For mushroom sales, it is therefore fine that we have had long fresh weather. Actually, sales of all varieties are running satisfactorily. Sales of brown mushrooms have been good for weeks. At this time of year, one always sells a little fewer shiitake, but that demand will pick up later in autumn."
Mark Joosten and Bart van Namen.
"Some 8 to 10 weeks back, we did have a dip in sales. This was anticipated by the grower, so there is now slightly less supply. Incidentally, that was partly necessary to cut back a bit on production, because otherwise you can't get the mushrooms off the beds due to a lack of staff," Mark observes. "The increase in the minimum wage is having a serious impact on mushroom farms, because picking mushrooms requires a lot of labour. You therefore see that great strides are being made in automation. A number of farms have already converted to this. With such innovations, it always takes a while until the teething troubles are fixed, but I am convinced that this development will continue. "
Although there has already been considerable consolidation among mushroom growers in recent years, this development is not over yet, according to the mushroom trader. "We still have a lot of 'daddy-mama' farms in our sector, which keep their business going only by picking with the immediate family. But you see that when these growers come of age that there is often no succession. As a result, many smaller growers drop out. In recent years, more and more medium-sized growers have started organising their own marketing, but they are also increasingly being taken over by the big nurseries."
With its 60-year history, Van Namen Champignons is a household name in the mushroom world. The company produces about 110 tonnes of white mushrooms, 40 tonnes of chestnut mushrooms and also about 2 tonnes of oyster mushrooms every week. "This makes us quite a big player in the Netherlands. All the mushrooms we trade come from our own sites," says Mark. "We supply a wide customer base, from German and Dutch wholesalers to customers who supply French supermarkets. We also still export to the UK."
The mushroom trader does not recognise the trend that packaging is increasingly going off plastic. "With us, the bulk still goes out the door in a plastic container, whether it's blue or green or some other colour. We don't really care what kind of packaging the mushrooms come in. As a supplier to many supermarkets, we deliver according to the customer's wishes." Mark sees the future of the mushroom sector with confidence. "We are working on new construction and hope to start that within the next year and a half."
For more information:
Mark Joosten
VN Trading
Koestraat 10
5334 LJ Velddriel
[email protected]
www.vntrading.nl