The sky-high strawberry prices from September are now behind us. "The volume has increased somewhat, but we're still working with solid prices. Even smaller strawberries are selling well, so we can say that we've had a decent autumn so far," says Philip Van Overbeke of Maatschap Van Overbeke.
However, Philip, who runs the business with his daughter Jorien, doesn't expect the prices to drop significantly. "You can see that volumes are increasing a bit on the market. We got 10 to 12 euros per box about ten days ago, but now auction prices are between 5 and 6 euros. It's still good, and volumes will continue to rise in the coming period, but not so much that we'll see weak prices. I also understand there's still demand from the trade, which is always a positive sign."
"It doesn't have to be 12 euros," he laughs. "If it were June or July, you could still easily sell them at these prices. But now, the peak sales period is behind us, and with the change in weather, people tend to pass them by. Demand is already a bit lower, and if the prices are also higher, supermarkets opt to replace them with other products on the shelves. That said, there's still demand, and the quality is good. We've had no issues with soft fruits."
"I don't expect a major increase in demand anytime soon. However, there don't seem to be any problems with sales opportunities. Our strawberries mainly stay within the domestic market, but I hear there's demand for the Belgian supply from many European countries."
Philip expects to be able to offer strawberries until the end of the year. "Last year, we had a heatwave in September, so by the end of November, everyone had already cleared out all their plants and tidied up. Because of the heat, all the strawberries hit the market at the same time, but this season, the crops are more spread out, leading to better distribution. Even though we've had a 24-degree day, I don't foresee any more heatwaves, so I think we can maintain the good prices until the end of the year.
The difference now is that, a few years ago, almost everything delivered around this time was Elsanta. Now, we're seeing many other varieties, like Karima, which is also affecting prices. Elsanta no longer dominates, and the shift towards everbearing varieties has spread things out more, which is a positive development."
For more information:
Philip Van Overbeke
Aardbeien Van Overbeke
Bessemstraat 65
8790 Waregem (Belgium)
+32 (0) 56 61 43 88
[email protected]
www.aardbeienvanoverbeke.be