The Greenery/Naturelle has reported a strong year for salads despite the potential problems of a hot summer. Managing director Rene Lelyveld, speaking at AGF Totaal, was particularly pleased with UK performance.
The UK salad market remains crucial to the Greenery business, he said, with approximately 35 per cent of its produce coming here.
Lelyveld highlighted some key growth areas. He said: “There is increasing interest in our products and the volumes of cherry tomatoes into the UK is astounding.” The group is looking at forming a coalition with growers in Spain and Italy to offer year-round tomato production.
There have been nice surprises in the veg sector, with interest in broccoli rising dramatically and cauliflowers enjoying a temporary surge.
“Demand has risen by around 200 per cent, which is of great surprise considering the hot weather,” he said.
The group has also managed to fill a cauliflower gap on the UK shelves. Lelyveld said: “We have managed to send increased volumes of cauliflower to our UK customers in recent weeks, when there has been a shortage in the UK crop.”
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