Even more than usual at this time of year, the market is looking to Spain. After the severe weather there, the question is: What will happen with vegetable prices? An effect on prices is at least expected in peppers, although much is still uncertain.
At the VBT auctions, pepper prices have not increased in week 44 yet. Red and yellow are rising slightly in price, while green is almost stable. This is really the tail end of the local season.
Cucumber and tomato crops do continue through the winter, with exposure. The cucumber price found its way back up last week after a hard fall. It yielded a unit price of 36.7 euro cents per week on average. That is still a price below the five-year average, though.
Tomato prices, while above the five-year average, also fell a bit in week 44. The kilogram price for loose tomatoes comes to 89 euro cents. For vine tomatoes, the middle price for week 44 comes to 1.547 euros per kilogram.
The cabbage lettuce price fell back but is still well above the five-year average.
The strawberry price dropped below the five-year average. Good to realize: that costs have also risen sharply in recent years. So above-average prices are nice, but whether it is also better on balance varies from situation to situation, from grower to grower.
Want to see the price graphs wholesale? You can do so on the Flemish Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries ' agricultural figures page. View all VBT middle prices for week 44 for vegetables here.