"I think there are too many players on the market"
International trade
Philip van Geest of Van Geest International: “The Dutch sector likes to see itself as innovative, high-quality and highly-developed and of course it is, but in terms of volume we don’t amount to much. We still have a lot of work to do if we look at international sales. The market is increasingly developing towards specialties with beautiful packaging, 100% organic, honey tomatoes and so on. But for the majority of consumers a tomato is still just a tomato, even if you tie a purple ribbon around it. Nevertheless I think we should display a little more pride about our horticulture, but that is hard these days. In many ways, the industry is still seen as wasteful and environmentally damaging.”
“In general I think there are too many players on the market,” Van Geest continues. “And not enough know-how. International trade in particular suffers from an excess of incompetence. I really believe we should stabilize and streamline the way in which we do business with foreign countries.”
Production and marketing
Mark Versluis, responsible for PR and Communication at growers’ union Van Nature: “I do believe cooperation between growers, in the way we do here, is the future. Most of those who joined are happy with the way things went so far.”
Van Nature strives for the widest possible range in order to provide a suitable product for every market, but there are no plans to produce abroad. The union does maintain close ties with customers and is market-oriented in its production. The marketing of greenhouse vegetables, according to Van Nature, must lie in the hands of a limited number of chains. “We’re not there yet, but I think we will be a few years from now. A growers’ union offers its products in one of those chains, taking into account the specific needs and requirements of the relevant end user. In this way, the customer is guaranteed to receive the supply, but the grower is also sure to make the sale. I see this as a positive development for the future of Dutch horticulture.”
Peppers under pressure
Hein Wolff, manager of Paprika XL, Holland’s largest pepper growers’ union: “Over at Paprika XL we work as a team, which is certainly a development I’d recommend for the future.” The prices of Dutch peppers are currently under some pressure by products from Israel, but Hein Wolff says he can’t complain. "The Dutch season has started relatively late, the cold spring not helping matters of course. With a somewhat higher temperature and more sun, it's all easier. There are some trials going on with exposure in order to advance propagation, but even if that works prices have to be high enough to make it profitable.”
The Dutch pepper may experience some difficulties at the moment, but still Hein Wolff is convinced that there will always be a place for Dutch peppers on the market. However, he does not deny that some changes are in order. "If this sector is to succeed, we need to put even more emphasis on the qualities of Dutch peppers. In the field of flavour, taste, but also on sustainable cultivation. Without these, the future might be bleak.”
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