The trade in free carrots is slow to get going. There is more than sufficient supply of carrots, but the demand side is still calm.
Due to the relatively high prices in recent years for the carrot early in the season, interest among growers has increased. Some storage carrot growers have switched to the former segment and new growers have emerged. The area of early carrots has therefore grown. In addition, in recent years the spring has been very dry. Growers were busy with irrigation, with mixed results and yields were generally often disappointing.
Good conditions
That is completely different this year. The spring may have been relatively cold, but the growing conditions for the carrot are almost ideal. With timely (sufficient) precipitation and without extreme heat, relatively many tonnes are now being harvested.
The demand for carrots is not keeping pace with the expansion of the acreage and the good yields. Some carrots are shipped to Africa (especially Senegal), but according to most traders things are not going very well. The high prices and limited availability of containers don't exactly help either. A container to Africa has become approximately 3 times more expensive in one year.
Quiet start
The DCA quotation for B-carrot starts this season at €15 per 100 kilos. The trade that has taken place concerns carrots suitable for export to Africa. Furthermore, there are many processors who can still make progress with contract carrots. Growers and commission agents with early varieties in particular, in Limburg in particular, offer before the carrot becomes unsellable due to loss of quality or is outcompeted by the later and therefore longer lasting carrots from other areas. The C-carrot also starts at €15 per 100 kilos. Large batches will find a buyer, but it is more difficult to find an interested party for the excess that is emptied from the B carrot.