The Dutch bell pepper season is in full swing at Royal ZON. "The green and yellow season ends in week 43. However, we will continue on until week 45 or 46 with the red and orange varieties," says ZON's Sales Manager, Wouter Willems.
"The market really collapsed last week. Germany is our most important sales area. They had a long weekend there. That played havoc with sales. At one point, red bell peppers were being sold for less than €0.30. Luckily the market picked up earlier this week again. Red and yellow bell peppers were selling for €0.80. The price for red bell peppers was at around €0.60."
"Green bell pepper prices are now taking a pounding. They have fallen to a level of around €0.40. In the Netherlands, it seems, of all the colors, a lot of green bell peppers are being harvested. This is being done to clear them away," continues Wouter.
"There is nothing wrong with the bell peppers' quality. It is important to keep buying. You certainly must not simply stand still and hope for better days. If you do, the quality will suffer further down the chain. But, at the moment, for these products, shelf life is excellent."
"Spain is, however, currently gaining the upper hand on the Western European market. Certainly, when it comes to price formation. Spain has been setting the tone in this regard for several weeks now," the Sales Manager explains.
"Fortunately, a lot of promotions are still being planned for Dutch bell peppers. A decent volume will then be sold at the daily market. On average, it has been a good season for Dutch growers. That is to say if they had decent yields. In the mix of contracts and day trading, the price has remained stable throughout the season."
After the Dutch bell pepper season, ZON switches to offering Spanish bell peppers at auction. Wouter sees an overlap of one or, at the most, two days, during this switch over. "We will, of course, not auction them side by side. But, we are not going to split hairs about it either."
For more information:
Wouter Willems
ZON
104 Venrayseweg
5928 RH Venlo, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 773 239 999
Fax: +31 (0) 773 239 719
wouter.willems@royalzon.com
www.zon-business.com