For many years, AGF-Online has been cultivating a variety of products on German soil. Back in 2001, Kees van der Meij started small, loading his first two pallets of spring onions into a Sprinter van. Today, vehicles are unloading around the clock, with several scheduled departures from Germany to keep up with the steady supply moving through vacuum coolers.
AGF-Online currently still has plenty of German spring onions available. However, selling them has become more challenging as the market is flooded with Egyptian spring onions. "They hardly bring in anything—sometimes you don't even cover the freight costs," says Kees.
He questions the added value of this import. "Last week, we all saw the news about the grower in Brabant who couldn't sell his green beans because his buyer opted last minute for crops from outside Europe. We're now seeing the same with spring onions. German ones are abundant, only a few hundred kilometers away. Despite everyone's focus on reducing the CO₂ footprint, it seems there's still a preference for Egyptian imports."
"The question is why we should sell them when we have ample European products available. Maybe it's time to consider an import ban on products from outside Europe, or we risk putting Dutch and German growers out of business. This has nothing to do with environmental or ethical concerns."
For more information:
Kees van der Meij
AGF-Online
WhatsApp: 06 - 59 88 65 16
[email protected]