In recent weeks, the climate conditions were practically normal by Dutch standards, and that’s to the benefit of quality of the products, according to Frits van der Meulen in his KCB column.
Quality greenhouse products
Bell pepper is often seen in trade channels. In retail, the mixed bell peppers are a regular and often sold product. For export, mainly the US and Japan were on the market these months, these are important sales markets and it would be good for the Netherlands to retain their position. Besides quality, the phytosanitary aspect is also important during KCB inspections. Inner decay is the biggest problem we come across during inspections. This problem is very visible on the outside of the product, and the product can therefore be sorted very well. We should all pay a lot of attention to this, because when batches with inner decay end up with our buyers it doesn’t look good for the product!
Regarding tomatoes, there’s not a lot to say. We’ve come across very few problems and quality is good. The same can be said for aubergine and cucumbers: good quality and not a lot of problems.
Quality of outdoor products
Quality of iceberg lettuce is good. We come across batches with a bit of decay occasionally. In the remaining outdoor products, such as cauliflower and broccoli, quality is good, and we haven’t seen a lot of problems in these either.
Source: KCB