The carrot market looks very different from the past two years. "I have been active in this market for 25 years, but the last two years have been exceptional," observes Kees Heegsma.
"This year, the situation is completely different, and Europe is dealing with a well-supplied carrot market. Many countries still have plenty of product in the ground, and carrots will continue to be harvested for some time. There has been some frost, but not much, so everything will be harvested. This limits opportunities for Dutch carrot exports."
"For field crops, the current price is around 17 to 18 cents, and this level has remained fairly stable in recent weeks. Earlier, there were attempts to push prices up, but that has proven difficult. For growers, this is disappointing because if they receive only 2 cents more for their cold-stored product than for freshly harvested carrots, storage costs cannot be covered," notes the outdoor vegetable trader from Lemmer.
"At the moment, it is mainly Eastern Europe driving demand. Dutch carrot washers have steady business in that direction. We are not hearing much from Germany regarding field crops, and the same goes for Belgium, where cold stores are also full this year," says Kees. He adds that the volume of organic carrots has stabilized in recent years. "There has been more contracting recently. These contracts are being honored, but there is little to no free trade in organic carrots. In particular, demand for organic carrots in the open market is lacking."
When asked what could still boost the market, Kees replied, "A real winter, but looking at the calendar, that is becoming less likely by the day. Besides, temperatures of 15 to 16 degrees are forecast for the end of the week. So I expect the market to remain stable for now. Hopefully, Eastern Europe will continue to take in our carrots, keeping trade moving, even if at a slightly lower price level."
For more information:
Kees Heegsma
Heegsma BV
Straatweg 74
8531 PZ Lemmer
Tel: +31 (0)514 56 92 24
M: +31 (0)6 53 24 48 28
info@heegsmabv.nl
www.heegsmabv.nl