While incessant rainfall has severely impacted sowing, harvesting, and yields over the past two seasons, this year marks a return to more typical conditions for carrots in the Hauts-de-France region. Emmanuel Schaffner, Verduyn's Sales Director, shares insights on the current situation. 
"Very good quality" storage carrots
"We're very pleased with how well the product has held up in cold storage," begins Emmanuel Schaffner. "So far, we've had excellent quality storage carrots, and we're optimistic that this will continue until the end of the season. Contrary to popular belief, the quality actually improves as the months go by." This high quality is largely due to favorable weather during the harvest. "Unlike last year, we had what we call 'carrot weather': cool, dry, and sunny. As a result, all our carrots were in cold storage by December 15, a month earlier than the previous year." Optimism also extends to supermarket sales. "The end-of-campaign transition typically occurs around weeks 24 or 25, depending on sorting and sales, and we are confident given the reservations we already have." Yield expectations for 2025 are also positive. "After last year's disastrous season, it wasn't hard to improve," Schaffner adds with a touch of humor. 
Emmanuel Schaffner at Fruit Logistica 2025
A buoyant market at the start of the year
While carrot consumption remains steady year over year, with consistent annual volumes, winter weather conditions have particularly boosted sales since January. "Output levels were strong last month, but prices have been inexplicably low since February," notes Schaffner. "Given the increased sorting required in open-field regions and the high levels of losses, prices should naturally be rising. In my view, the only plausible explanation is the staggered 4-week school holiday period across different zones, which is delaying the necessary price increase. This increase is essential to cover refrigeration costs and offset the high sorting and loss expenses in other production areas." 
Verduyn has recently begun sowing for the upcoming season, with acreage expected to remain "more or less the same." Schaffner concludes, "We've sown under good conditions, but we hope not to see excessive rainfall in the coming weeks." 
For more information:
Emmanuel Schaffner
Verduyn
Tel: +33 321 73 14 14
Phone: +33 (0)6 12 85 68 37
emmanuelschaffner@verduyn.fr
http://www.verduyn.fr/fr