Jean-Paul Nuijten of SpecialTom, recently returned from a visit to Morocco and Spain: "The import from Morocco and Spain started slowly this season. The reason is that, particularly in Morocco, it has not been very warm after planting. The summer in Morocco had stable temperatures, which provides a much better spreading in the first weeks of supply."
"Especially in Spain we see a very slow start compared to the previous season, and therefore the prices are good in the first weeks. Only round tomatoes and TOV fell in price during the last week because the volume increased slightly and there is still plenty of Dutch product."
Good prices expected over the coming weeks
Snack tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes-on-the-vine are quite stable in price. "With a decreased production in the Netherlands at this moment, I expect good prices in the coming weeks. Of course, the supply from Morocco is going to increase every week from now on."
Larger tomato supply from Morocco and Spain
SpecialTom will get a larger supply of the entire tomato segment from Morocco and Spain this season. "There was demand from some larger parties in Morocco to market their product from the Netherlands, and to work together to create a good marketing plan so the grower has control and is able to see who the end customer is. We are looking now at how we can jointly make sure to provide a good and safe product. Customer-oriented packaging plays a role in this."
Jean-Paul: "The growing of tomatoes has its price in Morocco. Growers are looking for stable partners who have experience in selling the product. Together with the growers we decided which product to sell."
Fewer round and snack tomatoes
"We see a shift in the tomato cultivation in Morocco and Spain in the growing of certain varieties of tomatoes. Round tomatoes have, after the disastrous season last year, been planted in less volume. These growers have switched to bell peppers or soft fruit such as blueberries and raspberry. In Spain fewer snack tomatoes have been planted because certain varieties have expensive seeds. If a grower cannot get his kilos and price after the cold winter last year, it has to stop."
SpecialTom keeps on specializing in marketing the total Moroccan and Spanish import package. Jean-Paul: "This means we get a nice package of bell peppers, courgettes, and citrus from Morocco and Spain. For this reason we have expanded our sales team. In short, we are ready for a new season."
For more information:
SpecialTom
www.specialtom.com
sales@specialtom.com
Jean-Paul Nuijten
jp@specialtom.com