This week saw the approval of the merger of two Belgian auctions, Mechelse Veilingen from Sint-Katelijne-Waver and Coöbra from Zellik-Asse. According to a press release, the name of the newly merged auction, which will become operational on 1 January, is set to be announced on 14 December. The two auctions are expected to end the year with a collective turnover of at least €300m, together making up 37 per cent of sales from Belgian fruit and vegetable auctions.
Although the new auction makes up just 4 per cent of Belgian fruit sales, its strength is in vegetables cultivated under glass and in open ground, as well as in chicory, organics and high quality and "forgotten" vegetables. The auctions' dominance of the vegetable market is striking, together accounting for more than 56 per cent of Belgian auction sales.
Most of the auctions' 1,145 active member-producers are based in the provinces of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant and East Flanders. Around 70 per cent of the auctions' produce is exported, and there are already 124 Dutch firms that will import their products directly from the merged auction.
The aim of the merger is to enhance and extend cooperation and to improve the combined auction's position vis-a-vis European wholesale distribution and export/import companies.
"In this way the merged auction aims to obtain a fair price for its producers once again, offer a more extensive range of products to buyers, optimise the infrastructure and logistics, and control costs," the press release stated. "Lastly, cooperation with all the other vegetable and fruit auctions in Belgium and its neighbouring countries remains an absolute necessity for the future."
Guy Callebaut, chairman of Coöbra, commented: “We want to integrate the two high-performance sales systems – the outstanding machine that is the Mechelse Veilingen and the effective sales team of Coöbra – on an equal basis, performing well, but also transparent. The only reason for merging two financially healthy auctions is to promote the interests of their member-producers."
Chris De Pooter, director of Mechelse Veilingen, and Filip Fontaine, director of Coöbra, who will head the merged auction together, agreed that the larger scale of the auction would bring many advantages, providing a better sales platform for the market gardeners and enabling a better response to rapidly changing demand.
"We have to unite so as to be stronger in the face of developments taking place among our foreign competitors," said Leo Bastaens, chairman of Mechelse Veilingen and chairman of the newly merged auction. "It's all a matter of the income and survival of our market gardeners."
