Bionda catastrophe
"The extre vine tomatoes left for 35 cents today, so dirt cheap. The loose tomatoes are around 30 cents." He believes there is a striking difference between the Lollo Bionda and the Lollo Rossa. "The Bionda has been a catastrophe for a while, so there is only ten cents given for the extra quality. The Rosso on the other hand is doing much better and was around 50 cents today. That's considerable." The aubergine price is around a Euro. "The coarse sizes are cheaper, but most is around the Euro." Courgettes remain low. "20 cents on Roeselare and 26 cents in Mechelen. There was a lot more supply in Roeselare."
Chicory and field lettuce
He indicates that chicory and field lettuce are both struggling with warm weather. "That's classic - it doesn't usually go well for these vegetables in warm temperatures. Chicory was around 40/45 cents and field lettuce was worth almost nothing."
Asparagus
According to the trader it is striking that there is such a difference between the regular loose asparagus and those packaged in trays. "Today they were 3 Euro per kilo for the extra plus 22 on the clock. Around 3 Euro was paid for the trays as well, but that's per half kilo. This has to do with a promotion in a certain Belgian supermarket."
Mussels with green celery
He indicates that the Belgian media reported that the mussel season has started again. "This works like a red rag to a bull: we love mussels here. Trade responded immediately by buying green celery. They were up to 1.05 each today." A different product that received a high price this morning was fennel. "This was around 50 cents each."
Ascension Day
There is a warm weekend coming and many of those in Belgium and the Netherlands are anticipating the weekend. "If you look at the prices, the demand doesn't seem high enough for it to rise. The influence of the holiday is less evident these days."