Walking IPM Essen this year gives you the opportunity to get a glimpse of the current status of the substrate market — and it's a market in motion. The substrate shortages caused by lower supply from the Baltic states are having a clear impact. Some suppliers are forced to divide their supply among existing clients, while others still have sufficient product to welcome new buyers. Prices of both coco and peat have increased, and these developments seem to be leading to a definitive breakthrough of substrate additives such as wood fiber and sphagnum moss.
© Arlette Sijmonsma | HortiDaily.com
Last year, the industry already sent out a warning: due to weather circumstances, the peat harvest in the Baltic states was significantly lower than in other years. Although not all suppliers are affected — the Scandinavian harvest, for example, has been less impacted — it is nevertheless resulting in a shifting market.
Due to the current cold spell, some factories have had to halt operations. On the one hand, this is not overly inconvenient, as output levels are already lower; on the other hand, it will almost certainly cause a peak in demand once the weather improves and everyone is ready to start their season.
Substrate additives like wood fiber have been promoted for several years, and the current shortages may finally lead to their large-scale adoption by growers. Suppliers of perlite and vermiculite also did not hesitate to showcase their products, potentially helping growers create mixes with the desired properties, and of course many Indian suppliers were present with their coco products.
It's a new dimension in a market that is already been driven by acquisitions and mergers in the last decade. The acquisition of Agaris by UK group Evergreen Garden Care is only the most recent one. These were preceded by deals involving Compacqpeat / Pindstrup, Van der Knaap / Premier Tech, and earlier agreements such as Legro / Botanicoir, Kekkilä-BVB (and Brill) as well as Bol Peat / Shakti Cocos / Klasmann-Deilmann. The substrate market is a market not only moving into new phases, but also responding to global changes — both in terms of supply and customer demand.
More news coming tomorrow, and, of course, a full photo report on Monday! Good luck on the final day of the show to everybody.
