"This year, Dutch supermarkets are honestly doing their best to sell local blueberries. That used to be different, and growers complained, but now Dutch retailers deserve a pat on the back," says Fred Douven of abbGrowers.
abbGrowers's sales team visited Dutch growers two weeks ago.
Dutch growers began harvesting blueberries two weeks ago. "The quality's good, the size is a touch smaller than we'd have liked, but the growing season started later, so the berries had slightly less time to grow. Overall production will be a little lower than in previous years. And if we have Class II product, from this year on, we'll just turn it into blueberry beer. The first shipment has already been sold."
Fred expects a short, vigorous season. "I don't believe any berries will be left on the bushes. The Dutch season will be over pretty quickly, as will northern Germany and Poland. Prices remain reasonable, so far, but are falling somewhat harder in Germany. They could obviously always be better, but could certainly have been worse," he says.
"The pre-season went quite well, too. After a quiet Spanish season, the Serbian growers could start picking smoothly. A rainstorm caused another few days of delay, but in the end, Serbia had a good season volume-wise and an average one, quality-wise. The Romanian berry season also went satisfactorily. There's a clear market division there between growers who focus on quality and keep developing and mostly older growers who continue cultivating old varieties and go for volume."
"We've also got the first Ukranian berries again. Despite the war, cultivation in that country continues much as usual," Fred explains. "Our own grower is also sending good volumes and nice quality. We sell plenty of Sekoya berries, and that demand is truly incredible. There's a huge demand for premium berries. I wish I had 1,000 more tons to sell."
After the European season, the new African season is fast approaching. "Zimbabwe should have a massive crop, and we expect the first berries from there in week 33. That volume could be as much as 30% higher. Following this, Peru and South Africa will return to the market. So the next few weeks are once again fully crowned blue and round," Fred concludes.
For more information:
Fred Douven
abbGrowers
8 Handel Street
5961 PV, Horst, NL
Email: [email protected]
www.abbgrowers.com