The smiles are slowly returning to the faces of Belgian fresh produce growers and auction executives as they view prospects for a year that, quite frankly, could hardly be worse than 2004.
Turnover from exports of the country’s fruit and vegetables fell by 18.3 per cent in the first half of last year compared with the first six months of 2003.
The contrast in fortunes was perhaps most starkly summed up by figures from Mechlin, Europe’s largest co-operative vegetable auction, which in 2003 posted a record turnover of more than €250 million but last year turned over only €190m.
“It was a very bad year for us,” says the auction’s communications manager Vesrb Stas by way of an understatement, “but 2005 is looking far more hopeful.”
For the sake of the Belgian fresh produce industry, ‘hopeful’ needs to be turned into positive sales figures. As Dominiek Noppe of exporters Vergro pointedly puts it: “A few years like last year would mean the end of a lot of growers in Belgium.”
Maarten De Moor of LAVA, the umbrella organisation that groups seven Belgian auctions, says: “It’s true that 2004 was an ‘annus horribilis’. All the factors that might have made 2004 as good a year as 2003 just weren’t there. The situation was exactly the other way round, in fact.
“The weather conditions ensured excellent growth, resulting in a bumper crop and huge productivity in all European countries. A cooler summer meant that consumption slackened off, leading to a certain amount of over-production.
“Internationally, trade did not do too well either. The high euro exchange rate almost brought trade in overseas markets to a standstill, with the result that our produce had to be sold on the already overfull European market, which at times also had to cope with large-scale imports from Turkey and Poland.
“All these factors together created a downward price spiral and that’s why we saw falling sales figures at the LAVA auctions.”
The biggest downturn in sales was for loose and vine tomatoes (35 per cent down), most varieties of lettuce (up to 34 per cent down) and leeks (46 per cent down).
The signs to date in 2005, however, indicate better fortunes - thanks in part to outside factors such as problems encountered in competing countries.
Between the beginning of February and the beginning of March, frost and snow - plus the consequent difficulties with transport conditions - in a number of Southern European production areas created demand for quality-label Flandria greenhouse vegetables that was unusually high for the time of year.
This was especially the case for vine tomatoes, heavy butterhead lettuce, Iceberg lettuce, lamb’s lettuce, cucumber, courgettes and aubergines.
Increased demand inevitably meant that prices were noticeably higher than 12 months earlier - to the relief and delight of organisations such as Mechlin, which is aiming to bounce back from its disastrous 2004.
Mechlin’s Stas says: “The season has started very well, in fact the first three months have been the best since the auction was founded in 1950. But that was due partly to the problems they had in Spain, and in any case it’s not just the first three months that make a year so we shouldn’t be too enthusiastic.
“Things are looking good though, and almost every product has sold well so far. Loose tomatoes are getting prices comparable to the last three years, tomatoes on the vine are doing extremely well, cucumbers, courgettes and egg plants are doing better than last year and green peppers are also performing well.
“Red and yellow peppers are not faring as well as last year, but they didn’t have a disastrous 2004 like other products did. Brussels sprouts also didn’t make a good start and endives, although they are doing better than last year, have been selling under the prices to make it really profitable for producers.
“Leeks started well but couldn’t hold their good prices, but the various types of lettuce are all doing very well and the situation generally looks promising.
“We may not have as good a year as 2003, but it should certainly be better than last year and we are hopeful that our turnover will be around €225 million - much closer to our 2003 figure than we managed last year.”
Like Stas, Vergro’s Noppe is optimistic but with a hint of caution. “Everyone hopes that prices will be a lot dearer,” says Noppe, whose company’s UK business accounts for around 30 per cent of its fruit and vegetable exports.
“Because of what’s happened in Spain, with all the frost they have had, prices have been good, but I’m afraid that it may be only in the beginning of the year that we have that situation.
“Hopefully the summer will be very hot in southern countries and we can take advantage, but without the help of those situations it could be another bad year.”
And LAVA’s De Moor adds: “It’s difficult to predict how the market will behave, but nevertheless we have high hopes that we’ll see better prices in 2005 for most types of Flandria produce - and various indicators tend to suggest that will be the case.”
As they attempt to build exports back up towards previous levels the Belgians will be paying most attention to their core markets of Germany and France, where VLAM has permanent offices.
But renewed efforts will also be made to increase market share in several other countries including the UK.
Leen Guffens of VLAM says: “Our produce must make further inroads into new markets. One of our goals is to increase the share of total Belgian vegetable exports to Russia, Japan and the USA, but our priorities include tomatoes in Greece and strawberries in Scandinavia and the UK.
“The UK was only our fifth biggest market in Europe for strawberries in 2003, but then between October 2003 and September 2004 it became our second biggest in Europe for strawberries - an amazing evolution.
“In general terms Germany is our biggest market, then France and the Netherlands with Britain the fourth biggest.”
SUITS YOU SIRA
As it looks to strengthen its position in the UK market place, BFV, Belgium’s largest organisation of fruit growers, is expanding its product base while continuing to focus on strong selling lines such as Conference pears and strawberries.
“The Belgian Conference pear is a success and BFV wants to maintain its good name,” says the company’s Diether Everaerts. “To that end we have developed a new brand, SIRA, that meets all the quality standards for markets such as the UK.
“Last year BFV also started growing leek and lettuce - there are a number of strawberry growers who are looking for alternative production and have begun growing leek during the spring/winter season.
“More and more growers are also becoming EurepGAP accredited to meet the requests of the UK supermarkets and as they feel it will give them a big advantage over other suppliers.
“Our own position in the UK market has not changed that much in the last decade and we are still known as one of the most important suppliers of Conference and strawberries.
“We still have problems gaining a foothold in this market when it comes to Jonagold, but Jonagored and Golden Reinders have found their way to UK customers.”
SLIMMING THE LAVA WAY
The LAVA auctions have jumped on the slimming bandwagon by devising, in association with the Nutrition Information Center (NICE), a slimming plan in which fresh fruit and vegetables are essential ingredients.
The plan offers, claims LAVA, a balanced and scientifically sound diet together with cooking tips for a whole week plus variations for subsequent weeks. It also makes use of new cooking techniques and incorporates new nutritional insights.
If the plan is followed properly, says LAVA, it guarantees a weight loss of 4kg in the first month and between 1 and 1.5kg a month thereafter. And it is based, adds LAVA, on the normal eating pattern of healthy working people.
One problem for UK based Journal readers could be the fact that the slimming plan will only be available in Dutch and French. A free copy can, however, be downloaded from the LAVA website at www.lava.be.
FLANDRIA CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY
In its 10 years of existence the Flandria marque has become Europe’s biggest label in the vegetable sector. That is quite an achievement considering the label’s 1995 launch was in response to a crisis in Belgium’s fresh produce industry.
Leen Guffens of VLAM, the Flanders agricultural marketing board, recalls: “We were in a negative spiral - prices and quality were going down but volumes were increasing, so growers were making no money and something had to be done to change the situation around.”
The situation was changed around and dramatically so, as Maarten De Moor of LAVA points out when assessing the impact that the marque has made in the last decade.
Looking back to 1995, De Moor says: “Under pressure from Southern European suppliers and the price policy of major European distributors, cost cutting had had the effect of eroding quality standards.
“Flandria was set up to clearly show customers the difference between conventional produce and better-quality produce. The label was launched with the emphasis on tomatoes, but it was soon extended to include other types of produce and nowadays Flandria covers 53 varieties of fruit and vegetables.
“Over the past 10 years Flandria has also developed a unique system of quality improvement. Cultivation techniques and the help and advice given to producers now rely on scientific research and are consistently of the highest standard.
“Flandria production specifications served as an example for the new common IKKB standard for the entire vegetable sector in Belgium. This standard meets the rigorous requirements of the General Food Law concerning self-monitoring and traceability.
“The success of Flandria also relies on the Belgian auctions within the LAVA auction association being well organised and working together effectively. LAVA administers the specifications and ensures that the produce of the 3,500 Flandria growers affiliated to the seven LAVA auctions is subject to absolutely uniform checks.
“Ultimately, however, the good name and market position of Flandria are mainly due to the enormous amount of care and effort that our family businesses constantly put into growing their produce. And that’s something they should be proud of.”
FLANDRIA TOMATOES NOW AVAILABLE ALL YEAR ROUND
The predicted growth in the winter supply of Flandria tomatoes has surpassed expectations. Seven times more tomatoes were supplied in January 2005 than in January 2004.
Even more producers than initially estimated brought forward their plantings in 2004 or went ahead with crop rotation earlier. Never before have the first tomatoes of the new season arrived so early at the LAVA auctions.
The first vine tomatoes (Mini Flavour) appeared on 30 December, followed by the first loose tomatoes (Prince) on 10 January and the Princess and Elite segments (vine tomatoes) on 21 January.
The stage has now been reached where tomatoes in some Flandria segments are available to retailers all year round.
RITA THE FIRST
Rita Demaré became the first woman in history to head up a Belgian fruit and vegetable auction when, on April 16, she was appointed the new chair of REO Veiling (Agricultural Auction Market) in Roeselare.
Forty-one year-old Demaré was unanimously elected by the board of directors to succeed 65 year-old Daniël Cloet, who is retiring after seven years as chairman.
The new chair runs a horticultural holding with her husband Paul Mol, specialising in growing lettuce under glass, parsley and cauliflower. She has been on the board of directors since 2001.
