Henk van Doorne of Van Doorne Imex in the Netherlands characterizes the lettuce market as slim. "Considering all the price increases, lettuce prices should be rising in tandem, but that's not happening at the moment, and costs are skyrocketing. Fortunately, most small growers have very inexpensive gas contracts, but the bigger players often depend on the day market," he says.
"We're luckily coming out of a particularly good period. August and September usually aren't too good for lettuce. However, this year the product was in short supply, so we caught up well after a mediocre winter and spring. Of course, that only applies to those who had lettuce available, because there wasn't much supply on the market either. I had to turn a lot of buyers away."
"Supplies have improved somewhat. There aren't huge volumes, but sales are going well," Henk continues. "Scandinavia is on the market sometimes, and the Middle East is a stable lettuce buyer. It's only the European demand that's limited, but that's nothing new. Consumers are increasingly eating colored lettuce or those in bags and mixes. Head lettuce sales are declining more and more. That's, after all, the reality of changing eating habits."
For more information:
Henk van Doorne
Van Doorne Imex
60-62 Noordlandseweg
2691 KM, 's-Gravenzande, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 174 417 989
Mob: +31 (0) 626 068 284