For many years, AGF-Online has been growing various products from German soil. "And despite these years of experience, we are still learning every day. Partly due to the changing climate, innovating remains a must," says Angèlique van der Meij.
"When my father started Van der Mey-Barendrecht, we made a tentative start in 2001 with two pallets of spring onions. In the back of the Sprinter-van, piled up to the roof, they proudly arrived in Barendrecht at 03.00 at night. Meanwhile, cars unload all day long because the space in Barendrecht is too limited for these quantities. We also have several departure times scheduled in Germany, so customers can order until late morning or early afternoon. Those who order earlier can load earlier the other day. Also by staggering the arrivals, the vacuum coolers can keep up more easily."
Currently, spring onions, among others, are hot. "Deep dark green and very long shelf life. Long and short, everything is possible. We offer spring onions in EPS, wood or box. For 2025, we are developing a plant protection product against mildew organically. Mildew didn't always go completely well in the past much too humid spring, but the tests look promising."
"We have also been feeding German carrots for years. The carrots in De Pfalz have a fantastic flavour due to the greasy clay soil. Here, too, we have to deal with the changing climate, with increasingly heavy downpours. Smooth drainage and controlled groundwater levels are therefore of enormous importance. By regulating the groundwater, we are increasingly able to harvest long, thin carrots. We also bunch carrots with capacity 15, which are slightly lighter than the 12'ers and therefore a bit easier to flowpack, the cask and transport costs are obviously lower, while it is still a hefty bunch."
"Celery and radishes can of course be packed in all kinds of ways. The marketing of German parsley is also improving. Previously it was thought impossible, but gently there is a growing realisation that they are tougher and tastier," Angèlique continues. "Last but not least, we are carefully driving up the first pumpkins. These come in in boxes of 3-5 kg, 5-7 kg and 7-9 kg. With Halloween just around the corner, we expect another good demand. Next week we will also be very ample in kohlrabi. And as the Maths teacher always concluded at Mavo: Don't ask how it can be done, but take advantage of it!"
For more information:
Jordi Roessen and Angèlique van der Meij
AGF-Online
WhatsApp: +31 6 - 59 88 65 16
[email protected]