CEO David Markowski tells Eurofruit why strategic alliance with Belgian group is so important in today’s market
Dutch cooperative The Greenery aims to expand its sales revenue from Netherlands-grown fresh produce to more than €500mn by 2030, as it continues to focus on its core domestic business, and looks to secure a strategic partnership with Belgian grower organisation BelOrta that would market crops worth at least €1.5bn combined.
In an exclusive interview to be published in the next edition of Eurofruit Magazine, group chief executive David Markowski said he expected the number of major players supplying fresh fruit and vegetables to big supermarket chains across Europe to decline over the next few years, as those customers gravitate towards suppliers with larger and longer product availability.
“In future, there will only be room for three players like The Greenery who represent growers and sell their products to retailers in the Netherlands. Today, there are almost ten,” he explained. “Retail is consolidating very quickly, and its bargaining power is increasing.”
In June 2024, the boards of The Greenery and BelOrta signed a letter of intent to explore cooperation between the groups in the form of a Union of Producer Organisations.
“We need to level the playing field,” said Markowski. “So, The Greenery needs to get to a certain scale: organically, investing in our growers to ensure they can thrive in an increasingly competitive market; and non-organically, via partnerships – for example our proposed collaboration with BelOrta in Belgium – or taking over other parties via buy and build.”
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