Late last week, the price of vine tomatoes dropped, although expectations are the decline will not last, according to a trader. "The last few weeks were decent, with prices around one Euro. On Thursday and Friday the price suddenly dropped to around 70 cents. I don’t think, however, that it will stay there. Prices are bound to recover leading up to Pentecost."
Currently Russia still owns the market, complemented by good demand from Eastern Europe. "If we have to compete with the deployment of local produce, things might get hairy. The more so because the Dutch acreage has increased considerably.”
Demand from the southern countries has not yet come in earnest. "That usually comes in at a lower level, but you can expect some more after Pentecost. But in all fairness, it’s quite difficult to predict the flow in the weeks to come. Everything depends on what is going on in Europe. We are in a difficult economic state. Local production elsewhere in Europe will affect the pricing of Dutch tomatoes."