With suppliers preparing for the start of the Dutch salad season, the deafening sound of rain on Spanish polytunnels is still ringing in their ears. Supply shortages – mainly in lettuce, tomatoes and peppers – from southern Spain and Morocco are set to drive up demand for Dutch produce as suppliers switch to the Netherlands in the coming weeks. This can only mean one thing for British importers: higher prices.
In Dutch peppers current pricing is “very high against seasonal averages”, according to Keelings’ procurement commercial manager Philip Brown, and while the Netherlands’ pepper season is still in its infancy, Brown says it is “still a few weeks away from creating sufficient volume to satisfy demand and price expectations”.
“It has been a difficult year in Spain on peppers,” he adds. “And Almeria is now limping towards the end with larger-sized peppers that are not conducive to UK market specifications. Morocco has helped supply volumes through the season and we are ready to harvest new plantings in Murcia from week 13.”
Marcel Paul of Dutch exporter Quality Produce International (QPI) downplays the impact of the Spanish veg crisis on Dutch supply, saying prices and demand are “looking to be quite normal”. This should, however, be viewed in the context of similar supply gaps between the Spanish and Dutch seasons in recent years – namely in 2016 when an abnormally warm winter affected crop development in Spain.
Another tricky changeover could be compounded by reductions in tomato and green pepper plantings in the Netherlands this season, as well as an anticipated shortage of small peppers and vine tomatoes, as predicted by Paul. Varietal innovation in large round tomatoes is driving this trend, he says.
In a bid to boost yields and meet challenging demand, the Netherlands continues to invest in glasshouse technology, particularly LED-assisted growing. “The newest LEDs are up to 40-55 per cent more efficient in converting electricity into light than high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps,” says horticulture professor Leo Marcelis of Wageningen University. “We now see more soilless cultivation and more growers are using assimilation lighting. One company, Staay Food Group, is building a vertical farm with nine layers of production for the production of leafy vegetables for fresh-cut salads.”
In the past, the focus of such hydroponic growing was on Butterhead lettuce, but now there is diversification into different types of lettuce. In cucumbers, meanwhile, Paul reports an increase in high-wire cucumber acreage at QPI – a change he expects will boost both yield and quality.
The other main consideration for British salad suppliers as the Dutch season approaches is Brexit, with currency fluctuations making homegrown produce perhaps more appealing than in previous years. “The backdrop of Brexit and constant FX movement helps to focus ‘British’ as a core part of the offer,” says Brown. “We are working very closely with our British pepper growers to offer a solution both on availability and ‘local’ produce.”
As it stands, suppliers look set for a tricky season changeover, but this isn’t unchartered territory. If anyone can manage high demand, it’s the Dutch.
