The season for German open-field lettuce is now coming to an end, while red and white cabbage is increasingly coming to the fore. "Almost like last year, we delivered the last colorful lettuce of this year's season in calendar week 44," reports Hermann-Josef Lynders from the vegetable growing company of the same name in Niederkrüchten in the Lower Rhine region. "Due to the wet weather and crop failures of up to 15 percent, we can look back on a mixed season overall. Although planting and harvesting took place on schedule from mid-February and the end of April respectively, the field conditions were sometimes more extreme than ever."
Hermann-Josef and his father Hans-Wilhelm in the cabbage storage. The family business supplies food retailers and wholesalers, as well as industrial and processing companies.
Compared to the colorful lettuce, the losses in the iceberg lettuce segment were slightly higher, although this was not so much due to the crop itself as to the land structure. By contrast, the marketing situation was consistently satisfactory, Lynders continues. "Demand was continuously present and quite stable. However, overall prices were below the level of the previous year, with costs having risen again. In this respect, we should have received a little more for our products." Furthermore, the management of the vegetable growing company has observed an interesting development in the category of open-field lettuces: "Red and green oakleaf varieties are gradually losing ground, while Lollo Rosso and Bionda are gaining market share."
The Lynders family also specializes in the cultivation and sale of table potatoes and ware potatoes.
The Lynders family has decades of tradition in vegetable and potato growing. In addition to salads (about 79 hectares), red and white cabbage (on 4 and 14 hectares respectively) are also produced for the open market. The new cabbage season traditionally begins with the harvest of the early cabbage starting in mid-June. "Unfortunately, the wet weather hit the early cabbage hard, which was reflected in a corresponding drop in yields. We have the problem that we typically aren't allowed to fertilize as much. Despite the adverse weather, most of our main crop so far is in line with the norm: that is, we have been able to harvest cabbages with the usual unit weight of between two and three kilos for the most part."
The family business has its own fleet of vehicles.
Prices have been at a satisfactory level so far, and demand for white cabbage in particular is now increasing noticeably. "In this respect, there is a seamless transition from salads to the peak season for white cabbage. We expect the first white cabbage promotions in food retailers by the end of the month. By contrast, red cabbage sales usually only get a significant boost again around Christmas," concludes Lynders.
Storage is still in full swing: the last heads of cabbage are expected to be stored in week 47.
For more information:
Hermann-Josef Lynders
Hans-Wilhelm Lynders & Sons GbR
Dilborner Straße 56
41372 Niederkrüchten
Telephone: 02163-82952
Fax: 02163-898446
e-mail: [email protected]
https://www.instagram.com/lynders.nrw/