Dutch service provider Opticool Freshlogistics has taken delivery of the first new-season tomatoes and cucumbers. The products, which were shipped from Las Palmas in Tenerife to Opticool's facility at the Port of Rotterdam, were welcomed by the company's owner Antonio Oken.
With the start of the season back to normal after last year, when the first shipment reached the Netherlands in early October, Oken suggested the group would handle around 52 containerloads between now and the end of the campaign in May/June.
Producers said prospects for the coming season were uncertain, and it remained to be seen in the months ahead of shipments would reach the 137,000-tonne total. The industry has been in decline since the mid-1990s due to a loss of competitiveness and increased competition from third countries. Planted area has shrunk from 4,500ha in 1995/96 to 1,500ha in 2012/13.
