The lettuce market is under pressure at the moment. This as told by grower Johan
Bytebier from Nazareth, Belgium. Since 2000 he has an area of 2,4 HA of lettuce and supplies his products to BelOrta. "Normally I have a production of 40 to 50,000 heads, but this week I have no production myself. This because of expenses and also because there is talk about disappointing prices. Also the real top production months are still to come. Those are March and April. In January prices were also at a good level, about 50/60 cents, but since last week this has decreased. At BelOrta prices were around 23 cents and at REO Veiling this was 18 cents. Possibly the lower prices have something to do with larger supplies from the south, such as Italy. From various sides I heard about quality problems. Perhaps Italy has better products at the moment."
Johan expects that the full production this season will be between 10 to 14 days late. "It also depends whether growers use the screen cloth. I do not use it myself. The weather is really disappointing at the moment. We really need sun now." Johan notices a decrease in demand for cabbage lettuce during the past years. "There are so many different varieties and weights these days. Consumers have plenty to choose from. Nevertheless there will always remain a market for cabbage lettuce. Especially in summer at a barbecue quite a bit of lettuce is consumed."
The grower hopes for a good spring period. If this is disappointing then it will become more and more difficult in this cultivation. Costs continue to rise and more and more small growers disappear. Luckily we have survived so far. We also are a family company with a passion for the job!"
For more information:
Johan Bytebier
For more information:
Johan Bytebier