"Netherlands: "No higher price, but increased sales through Milieukeur"
"Harvest House has a significant stake in the fruit crops acreage in the Netherlands," says Jessica Hamelink, responsible for communications at Harvest House. "We have nearly 380 hectares of tomatoes. Additionally, we have about an equal acreage of peppers, about 390 hectares in fact. Finally, we have about six hectares of eggplants and three hectares of cucumbers. We deliver directly to retailers but also to shippers and wholesalers, predominantly in the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom and Belgium."
Sustainability Policy
At Harvest House, thorough quality and sustainability policy is key, says Marco Hanemaaijer of Harvest House. "We are very much involved in our current footprint in the areas of energy and water, and our performance in the areas of food safety, quality, bio-based economy and social practices. Especially in the field of energy we are making continuous progress. Many growers are using a CHP, but also the use of waste heat and geothermal energy is becoming more common. Such things we will continue to encourage.”
Raison d'être
Frank van Kleef is one of the members. Royal Pride, of which he is one of the owners, is a leading greenhouse company growing a wide variety of tomatoes on 52 hectares. Within Harvest House, Van Kleef, himself holding a Eco (Milieukeur) Certificate, is one of the forerunners in terms of sustainability.
"With the Eco Certification you can distinguish and thereby achieve higher sales. You don’t get higher prices or anything, but I simply want to be sure that my produce is safe and responsibly attained. Every week I take a box of tomatoes for my family back home, and I want that these tomatoes are safe and healthy."
Source: SMK-nieuws.
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