This season's bell pepper supply is very up and down. That's according to Wouter Willems. He's a sales manager at the Dutch cooperative's ZON. Why? The cold, wet spring.
"We've had weeks with high volumes and others where there's very little. In the south of the Netherlands, we've just come out of a dip. We received few bell peppers in the last ten days. But since the weekend, the supply of all colors is streaming in again. We're entering the fourth setting and are getting high volumes again."
"Sales are going reasonably well. Although, prices are too low for June. Last year, prices were, of course, fantastic, but they're currently not great. Red bell peppers are selling for around €1.10, yellow ones for €1, and orange ones for about €1.20. It's only the green peppers that are doing better. Their clock price is around €2," says Wouter.
"This season, it's generally been challenging to get everything sold. That's in the weeks when there's been good production. Fortunately, enough promotions are planned. And German and British supermarkets, for example, are participating well. However, the store sales prices are quite high. Last week, in Germany, retailers were even selling Dutch bell peppers for €7."
"But, the lockdown is gradually being lifted, and the weather's stabilizing. So, I think sales will stabilize in the coming weeks too. We're getting more wholesale market customers. Last year, they were still cautious about taking more stock. Luckily, we have a product of excellent quality. We've, therefore, had hardly any complaints about that," Wouter concludes.
For more information:
Wouter Willems
ZON
104 Venrayseweg
5928 RH, Venlo, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 773 239 999
Website: wouter.willems@royalzon.com