"Cucumbers are currently the biggest outlier in price," says Robert van Ooijen of Van Ooijen Groenten en Fruit, who buys daily in the mornings at the BelOrta, REO and Hoogstraten auctions for customers in the Dutch market. "Although the supply is not even very bad, cucumbers have been super expensive for a week and a half," he said. On Tuesday, sizes 35 and 40 sold around 85 cents, only the 30's lagged a bit behind. But the cuttings cucumbers are also still being auctioned above the euro, so that's a lot of money for the time of year."
"The clock price of the red peppers dropped back to the 1.15 euro mark on Tuesday, but the yellow (1.60 - 1.70 euro) and especially the green (1.85 - 2 euro) are doing very nicely. The green ones have been doing very nicely all season," Robert observes. "The tomato price has not been excessive all season. On Tuesday, the price of beef tomatoes was around 65 cents per kilo, which is slightly more than in recent weeks. Prices for vine tomatoes are also not shocking. However, you often see as August progresses, prices rise a bit. We also saw that on Tuesday with the aubergines, which all went above the euro."
"Lettuce is a bit more expensive now, but has been cheap for a long period. There seems to have been a bit too much of that throughout the summer season. There was a brief upturn in price in early July, but otherwise it didn't hold up. The price of the Lollo Bionda sits around 20 cents, but if things get tough, 15 cents also do the trick. Red and green oak leaf lettuce are slightly more expensive, but these are slightly smaller products that also have fewer quantities. The price of Romaine lettuce is always a bit better than the alternative types. Furthermore, we see high prices for lamb's lettuce, I expect that in countries like Italy and France there is less availability, so people end up in Belgium."
Besides greenhouse vegetables, Robert is focused on sourcing strawberries and other soft fruits. "From strawberries, we are currently seeing a normal supply. The best strawberries were selling for 2.25 - 2.30 euros at the clock on Tuesday, but the strawberry supply is currently a motley collection from open field, covered cultivation and the greenhouse. You do see strawberries getting a bit out of the mouth. We are seeing prices lurch forward a bit, though I did find the raspberries already quite cheap again."
The Belgian cherry season has already ended, but it was not an unqualified success, according to Robert. "Many cherries were lost in spring. As a result, few cherries were available, and they were also deathly expensive. There are fewer and fewer Belgian cherries over the years. Of course, it is a short and labour-intensive crop that fewer and fewer growers are venturing into. We therefore bought few cherries this year."
Overall, Robert does signal that clock sales are becoming more erratic. According to Robert, the Belgian auctions remain as popular as ever with Dutch buyers. "For pricing, Belgian auctions are decisive in the Western European market. Our strength is that we are present on site and, with an extra quality check, can ensure that everything goes perfectly to the customers."
For more information:
Robert van Ooijen
Groenten en fruit import van Ooijen B.V
Linnenstraat 3
2988 XL Ridderkerk
Auction: +3215565531
Mobile: +31651545998
[email protected]
www.vanooijenbv.nl