In recent years, the Dutch based company, Europe Retail Packing, has taken measures together with efforts to improve the marketing and trading of chives.
Demand
The demand for chives has proven, even during the Covid pandemic, to remain stable, solid and with gradual growth. “During Covid-19’s lockdowns and restrictions we were taught that not all LINES can be as popular in the Retail Sector as they are in the Hospitality Sector. In relation to the fresh herbs industry, chives are positioned amongst those selected few that seem to overcome both anticipated and unanticipated challenges,” stated by Omer Kamp of ERP.
According to the company, a product like this proves that what once was a niche product can, in due time, turn into a mainstream product. Yet still, not all chives are of equal merits and hence, proper partnership is of the highest necessity. Raymond Van Der Burgh of ERP continues by stating that the company’s alliance with Chive Farms Jordan River Herbs PLC of Ethiopia, has proven to maintain, secure and provide year-round sustainable agricultural practices in conjunction with social and environmental responsibilities. “One cannot go without the other, continuity in supply is resting on the ability to combine product’s quality and social responsibility”.
365 days a year
Chives are grown in various regions that include the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and South America. There is surely an abundance in growers but once more, any farm that wishes to prove its worth must first and foremost ensure an indisputable durability in supply.
Due to Jordan River’s PLC location in a high atmosphere region, 15 clicks West of Addis Ababa, growing conditions are optimal and the probability for diseases, viruses, and pests is at minimal. The farm has adapted its own version of the McDonald’s model whereby its stands firm to provide same quality Chives, 12 months a year, with no exceptions and no surprises. It has even gone into finer details that include bunch weights and stems’ lengths. Subsequently and for the first time ever, consumers can enjoy exact bunch weight with no more than 2% variation together with categorized lengths of 3 cm difference (e.g., Bn 25 gr with stems of 25 to 28 cm). This represents what sustainable agriculture is all about, 365 days a year.
ERP can offer clients today a service whereby they can procure, on a daily basis and with no need pre-order, any volume of chives whether loose, bunched, packed in flow packs, clam shells, labelled, measured 15 to 18 cm or 28 to 31 cm, with tips or without. If that’s not enough, product received will always have the same level of quality and always found clean of MRL.
Further elaborations on the role of social responsibilities in today’s market
It goes without saying that accreditations such as SEDEX and SMETA have become a requirement in the industry but still, it is not enough. Mrs. Anat Harrari, founder of Jordan River PLC in Ethiopia, has dedicated years of her life to incorporate a business that will combine both Agronomical-related aspects with Social Obligations. This task has been completed and later followed by the farm’s current General Manager, Mr. Fikir Hailemichael, by bringing the farm into a position where it provides loan supports for workers to build their own houses, participates in the construction of local health centers, police stations, and courts, delivers for thousands of inhabitants with FREE drinking water, distributes electric power for approximately 30 families, transports and plants seedling to the local community, supports different local youth sport clubs and finances a local school at the farm’s vicinity. Therefore, the role of social responsibilities in today’s market is best explained by building a better future for the industry by taking an active stance that it is people that move the industry and not the other way around.
Omer Kamp of Europe Retail Packaging goes on to conclude that in the post-Covid era, there is a pressing urge to surpass and comply with various social responsibilities. “A competitive edge is no longer associated with only the known variables of quality, price, and stability but rather and also with one’s contribution to its surrounding and environment. Just imagine how the industry will gain by realizing that perfection can come at will and not at the expense of others? That workers at the farm give 200% from themselves knowing it is distributed equally between benefiting consumers abroad and to locals at home.”
For more information:
Omer Kamp
Europe Retail Packing B.V.
Tel: +31 174 282 510
Tel: +972 54-6512199
Email: Omer@erpnl.nl