Pepper production in the Netherlands decreased and returned to the level of 2004 last year according to a report released by Productschap Tuinbouw, the Dutch horticultural board.
The report, which compiles production and import/export information about peppers for the year 2006 and, in the case of some data, for the first eight months of 2007, states that the reasons for this decline were a smaller harvest area and a lower volume of production per square metre.
This was good news for farmers as price increased from €1.00/kg (£0.72) in 2005 to €1.36/kg in 2006, while prices in 2007 have ranged between the lowest price in 2005 and the high prices of 2006.
The drop in production in 2006 led to an eight per cent decrease in exports compared to 2005, while the volume exported from January to August 2007 matched the same period of 2006 (286 million kilos).
Germany, a key importer of Dutch peppers, imported a record volume of nearly 310 million kilos in 2005, but in 2006 this figure dropped to 272 million kilos. Consequently, Germany has lost its position as the leading Dutch pepper importer. Meanwhile, UK imports remain stable and US imports continue to fall.
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