Dutch fresh fruit and vegetable exports rose by 14 per cent during the first half of 2010 compared with the first six months of last year, according to new figures published by national horticultural association Productschap Tuinbouw.
Export volumes for January-June 2010 rose to 1.07m tonnes, according to the group, against 944,000 tonnes shipped to export markets during the same period of 2009, buoyed by better demand mainly on the Netherlands' top foreign market, Germany.
The largest registered increase year-on-year was for pears, export volumes of which rose by 80 per cent.
Significant growth was also achieved for exports of key items such as tomatoes (+16 per cent), peppers (+5 per cent), cucumbers (+4 per cent), carrots (+20 per cent) and mushrooms (+2 per cent).
However, the volume of apples exported fell (by 6 per cent), as did strawberries (-6 per cent) and iceberg lettuce (-2 per cent).
Signs of recovery in Germany, the main outlet for Dutch fresh produce exports, will certainly be welcomed in the Netherlands.
The market took a total of 423,000 tonnes of Dutch fruit and vegetables between the start of 2010 and the end of June, 10 per cent more than in the same six-month period of 2009.
Growth in exports was also noted by Productschap Tuinbouw in other markets, including the UK (+8 per cent), Russia (+40 per cent), France (+29 per cent) and Sweden (+15 per cent).
A small annual reduction in export volumes of 2 per cent was noted on the Belgian market.
