The first tomatoes of the new season in Belgium have been traded at leading fresh produce auction Mechelse Veilingen.
Three 18kg cartons of Flandria Prince-branded product supplied by Scheers BVBA, based in Kontich, were sold at €99 per kg for a total sale of €1,798.
Mechelse Veilingen matched that total and the entire proceeds were given to Borgerhout-based charity Moeders voor Moeders (Mothers for Mothers).
The first three cartons were bought by ISPC, Ben Fresh and Univeg.
Last year's first tomatoes were sold much earlier, on 7 January 2008.
Mechelse Veilingen marketed a total of 85,128 tonnes of loose tomatoes in 2008, as well as 37,960 tonnes of tomatoes on the vine.
