The carrot market is very quiet at the moment. The main question is whether there is more in store for carrot growers. And will more carrots be grown in 2019?
Although at the moment quiet is in the market, the price for carrots is expected to remain good in the coming period (and possibly even improve). The calm is mainly caused by the fact that the price level for storage carrots is relatively high and the stocks are expensive. It ensures that processors are careful when making new purchases.
The question still comes
It is normally quiet at this time of year. This is because buyers of Dutch carrots are first processing their own stocks. This ensures that the price currently remains stable at around €22 to €26 per 100 kilos.
However, it is expected that prices will still rise, partly because German stocks are lower. Joost Litjens, advisor at Bejo seeds, also expects that Belgium and Germany will soon return to the market. "The expectation is that they will have to return to the market at the end of January, as their own stocks will have run out by then."
- Joost Litjens
Less yield
There are more reasons for a good mood on the market. "The box yields were generally not that bad. Nationally, there is less yield than last year and that applies to the entire Benelux and Germany," says Litjens. "The actual yields are not yet clear, but a lot of carrots will be test washed in the near future. In addition, a lot of carrots are gone. The carrot harvest has been brought forward this season, mainly because there was a lot of demand."
Although the quality is generally good, Litjens expects that some problems will still emerge. "For example, we do not know what the effect is of irrigation for a full season. The effect of harvesting that is too hot/too dry is also not clear. It is therefore important to check the storage carrot every week for quality progress."
Slight area growth
Carrot seeds are usually ordered a little later than onions, for example. It is not yet clear how large the area will be in 2019. "I expect a very slight increase. In terms of land, there are not many expansion opportunities left in the Flevopolder. This will therefore have to take place in other areas. I do expect more early carrots; that went well this year. A new plant will start in July season and the shortages of 2018 cannot be supplemented with carrots from 2019."
In any case, the growing conditions for the coming season seem to be favorable. Due to the dry summer, the structure is generally good and there was little damage during the harvest. This will have a favorable effect on the start of the growing season.