More and more cucumber growers are coming into production. Still, they bring their green fruits to a market with high prices. Cucumber prices were also twice as high as 'normal' last week.
Tomato prices are also at very high levels. In fact, the middle price for loose tomatoes rose again a lot in Week 9 at the auctions at the Federation of Belgian Horticultural Cooperatives. At an average of 3.34 euros per kilo, the middle price is just below that for vine tomatoes, good for 3.54 euros per kilo.
Benny Cuypers of BelOrta summed it up as follows: "The only exception to the rule are actually cucumbers. We have large quantities of those at the moment, but otherwise, it's scraping by."
The first green peppers have been auctioned in Belgium, and yesterday the first red peppers came out of Dutch grower 4Evergreen's greenhouse, offered through Harvest House.
Lettuce prices also rose a little last week. Local lettuce competes with outdoor crops in more southern climes. There, growers face tough weather conditions, from cold to storm.
Strawberry prices are also still at high levels, although the middle price in week 9 is only just above the five-year average. In other words, a price spike in early March is common. The price spike in recent weeks was more striking, as the figures below show.
View all price graphs on the Flemish Department of Agriculture and Fisheries' figures page here.
View the VBT mid-prices for week 9 for vegetables here.