Currently higher demand for organic carrots
The trade in carrots is at a low point at the moment. The dry weather does, however, mean extra wor…The trade in carrots is at a low point at the moment. The dry weather does, however, mean extra work, especially when it comes to organic carrots. "We are selling more organic carrots than usual. These are mostly being sent to England, France, and Scandinavia. These countries are interested in us because we can offer organic carrots fairly cheaply", says Ronald Gielleit of the Dutch carrot wholesaler, Top Fresh Handel.
Some of the conventional product is sold in Belgium and Germany. "It has also been hot and dry there. Our early carrots were finished earlier. In the Netherlands, we also harvested earlier because prices were good. We now pay EUR0,24 for fresh full ground carrots. The quality is good despite the dry weather. We do have less volume than other years, but the current price level makes up for that", says Ronald.
Besides trading, Top Fresh has also become specialised in the growing and processing of ready-to-eat carrots. They grow and process these for the local and international markets. Snack carrots is a growing market. According to Ronald, it is still developing positively. It is a different story with coloured carrots.
Top Fresh does offer these but expects the public interest to remain limited. "Yellow and purple carrots look nice. Albert Heijn supermarkets currently have these on their shelves. However, I do not expect coloured carrots to become a standard part of supermarket assortments. In practice, not much has been sold yet."