Much has already happened on the chicory, or curled endive, market this season. A decrease of 15 per cent of the total Belgian area was already predicted for 2016. “The main reasons for this were the bad prices during previous summers,” cultivator Dirk Declercq explains. “At the end of May prices were bad, around 45 cents for the heavier range, and 15 to 25 cents for the lighter range. This was far beneath cost price.”
A large part of the outdoor chicory did not survive
Natural reorganisation of the market
Declercq continues: “Part of the trade and retail therefore decided not to commit anything for this summer, and to buy everything on the free market, assuming prices would continue to stay low. However, Mother Nature decided differently: the unbelievable amount of rain and hail brought about a natural reorganisation of the market.”
Supply at the auctions decreased sharply. “At the beginning of June the VBT auctions still had a weekly supply of 4,500 crates, mid-June this dropped to 3,000 crates, which already had a serious effect on prices. We currently have a free supply of about 2,000 crates. Prices are high because of this, the heavier weights fetch about 1.50. Cultivators are naturally happy with current prices, although the percentage of the harvest (of outdoor cultivation) is extremely low.” Declercq cultivates about 50 per cent outdoors, and the rest in greenhouses.
Outdoor misery for curled endive
“At the REO-Veiling, we luckily also have product supplied from greenhouses. However, the outdoor cultivation is dramatic, with harvest percentages of 10 per cent or less. I hear from my colleagues in Mechelen and Brussels that the curled endive misery is even larger there. The Netherlands and the North of France also have shortages because of the extreme weather conditions. The possibility of outdoor cultivation has been fairly problematic since the end of May, because it is far too wet. Prices are expected to stay at the current level for a while longer. This is needed, to make up for even a little the losses from outdoor cultivation,” Declercq concludes.