"The price level of leeks has been moderate all summer," observes Kees Jansen of Teelt- en verpakkingsbedrijf Gebroeders Jansen from Etten-Leur. "In recent years, we have already seen that autumn is also becoming increasingly difficult. Major markets from ten years ago, such as France, England, and Poland, have become largely self-sufficient. We have to look further and further afield for exports."
"With our high production costs, the autumn period therefore remains structurally a difficult time. As long as there's no panic in the market, I expect us to continue moving along at this level towards winter for the time being. That will change from December onwards, however, when the former Eastern bloc countries start to freeze and demand from Scandinavia picks up. At the moment, southern Europe is the main source of demand. Countries like Spain and Italy have had a warm summer, and that is where most demand now comes from in autumn."
"The price in the Netherlands has been between 50 and 55 cents for quite some time. The Belgian auctions have been doing much better all year, with prices between 65 and 70 cents," Kees says. According to him, Dutch leek acreage remains fairly stable. "Occasionally, a smaller grower drops out, but overall, the acreage has stayed more or less the same over the years. We have a normal harvest here in the Netherlands this year. We did have to irrigate a huge amount here in the southwest because it was so dry. Fortunately, we are able to do that, but it does take a lot of energy, time, and money!"
For more information:
Kees Jansen
Teelt- en verpakkingsbedrijf Gebroeders Jansen
Naaldstraat 1
4873 LZ Etten-Leur
Tel: +31 (0)76 5264397
Mob: +31 (0)6 21577134
[email protected]
www.jansenprei.nl