Oxin Growers has kicked off the new greenhouse vegetable season. "Our acreage has slightly increased, but overall remained fairly stable," says Commercial Director Ruud den Boer. A significant trend he observes in the market this year is that, with the exception of cucumbers, there has been an increase in the percentage and partial contracts signed across the board. "All in all, a positive development, offering growers and customers a degree of certainty."
The exception of the cucumbers, according to the commercial director, is due to the erratic years. "Particularly because of the high price spikes two years ago, both in trade and cultivation, people are more hesitant to lock in agreements." Compared to last year, this season has seen an expansion in the supply of cucumbers and tomatoes grown with artificial light at Oxin Growers.
"The start of the cucumber season was characterized by a somewhat erratic supply and pricing. Prices are not too impressive yet, with the current price level around 32 cents for the 35's and 35 cents for the 40-grade," says Ruud. "For tomatoes, we saw a good start, especially with goods cultivated under lights, but that market has also dipped. Our acreage of snack tomatoes has increased after two years of decline. The acreage of TOVs has further decreased."
"The bell pepper season started with the green peppers, and now small volumes of orange and red peppers are also being supplied. Prices are at a level of around 2 euros, but that doesn't say much with the current volumes. However, the overall impression is that the crop is strong," continues Ruud. "The pricing of the eggplants is okay. More sunlight is needed for better quality of the product. Between weeks 12 and 14, we expect more entities to switch to Dutch products."
"We had our kick-off event last week, with 200 participants from the sector and the trade. The general sentiment is that there's a lot of enthusiasm for the new Dutch season. The quality from other countries is not too impressive," says Ruud. "Such a kick-off is important to bring cultivation and sales partners into contact. If we know what our sales partners are looking for, we can also align our product offering to match."
Expansion with organic products is definitely on the Oxin wish list. "There remains a demand for organic fruit and vegetables on the sales side. There are still some independent growers, but they also need to fit within our cooperative," says the commercial director. Expansion of cultivation abroad is - with the exception of Belgian members - not currently on the agenda. "We're not ruling it out, but we have no ambitions to expand in the southern countries for now."
For more information:
Oxin Growers
Tel.: +31 (0)180 203 203
info@oxin-growers.nl
www.oxin-growers.nl