"grower Willem Doorn: "Everyone thinks he’s the smartest guy in the room"
"Netherlands: "Lack of cooperation causes bad prices for cucumbers"
What Doorn is referring to is the failure of K4, an intended collaboration between four prominent growers’ unions. “We were trying to unite 80% of the available acreage. That way you can make a fist. But half the growers bowed out. They relied on the market. Now we’re back to underbidding each other, afraid we won’t sell our supplies. The government wants the sector to self-regulate, but we are far too divided.”
But thanks to the weather, things look a little better for the next few weeks. The silver lining however, isn’t enough to cheer up Doorn. "The weather is improving, but I don’t think it will affect prices too much. They’re likely to remain low. So the next two or three weeks will probably be a struggle. And after that? If we huddle together, so much the better. Otherwise we are looking at one bad season," the grower says.
