With export company Fresh Garden Holland, Jan Hendrik Wagenaar is mainly focusing on the British wholesale markets. He talks about Brexit, the transport to the UK and the situation on the greenhouse vegetable markets.
Brexit and refugees
When talking about export to the UK these days, you can't avoid the topic of Brexit. At Fresh Garden Holland they haven't noticed any tangible changes yet. "Only that the pound is lower and that's not good for the export. It isn't expected to rise. This makes the export slightly more difficult. But it was the same a number of years ago and we went back to 1.30/1.40," says Jan Hendrik. He doesn't look toward Brexit too negatively. "It may create more paperwork and checks. Time will tell." For now the problems at the Channel are causing more delays. "This has been non stop. First due to the refugee problems, then by work to the train and now the refugees have returned. In recent weeks we have seen that using the boats is faster than the train."
Domestic production in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom domestic produce takes up a preferential position among many retailers. They look for it in set chains and domestic nurseries. "There is still demand for imported product and there will continue to be," estimates Jan Hendrik. "Own production comes first, but there are still shortages on the market."
Not simple
This year he sees that the price formation isn't simple. "It's comparable to the last 5 years. There was a little revival in tomatoes, but the price is now declining again. You always see a dip in this period." In the market there was talk of Ramadan being the possible cause. "At the end of Ramadan there was a good demand, but I dare not make the connection," says Jan Hendrik. "You see this price dip every year. Of course, it's impossible to tell, but if you look at the past it can be expected that the tomatoes will pull up again in July."
No difference in cucumbers
Cucumbers have so far failed to make a dent in the market. "Growers thought it would be a good year - but they forget that last 1/5th of the area dropped out. Now the area is larger than last year at the start of the season." Peppers are also far from the good prices they were able to realise last year.
For cucumbers and peppers the expectation of a revival is also slimmer. There products tend to hang around a low price level around this time. "The peppers are now coming from higher day prices. It seems like it will stay at lower levels now. More growers are coming into production after the cultivation switch in cucumbers. This could be a difficult case."
For more information:
Fresh Garden
Rietgans 13
1721 DK Broek op Langedijk
Tel. +31 226 314464
Fax. +31 226 340627