Waiting pays off
Celeriac market changes unexpectedly
It was already clear to growers that the current marketing season for celeriac was not going to match the 2015/2016 season. Nevertheless, the market took an unexpected turn in mid-April and there is music in the trade again. This makes the arable farmers favorable for the last phase of the marketing season.
Despite the low yields in the Netherlands, due to a dry and warm late summer, the price level of celeriac remained stable and low for months. 'Growers were paid 15 to 20 cents per kilo, which is about the cost price, or even just below that', summarizes Kees Vrolijk. He is chairman of the Celeriac Growers Association The Netherlands and a grower of celeriac himself. 'About week 16 there has been a turnaround in the market. The price level has risen rapidly to 25 cents. At speculation level 40 cents or more is traded.'
1.700
hectare
Question didn't come for a long time
The Netherlands saw the acreage of celeriac by 10 percent in the past year sustainable, up to 1.700 hectares. That is the largest area in 10 years. A historically low regrowth, due to the dry autumn, however, negated this. However, Germany and the Eastern Bloc countries were well supplied with tubers. Poland, for example, had a very good harvest, which meant that demand was not forthcoming for a long time.
According to Vrolijk, the weather is partly a mood maker on the market. 'Early cultivation has certainly been influenced by the dry and cold weather this spring. We are now noticing more demand for our product from Germany, in particular.' According to the chairman, it is important to allow sales to continue at a stable level and not to push the limit, as a result of which buyers drop out.
don't gamble
'Last year the price level at the beginning of 2016 was 30 to 35 cents per kilo, which eventually rose to 70 cents', says Vrolijk. 'In the end, the last batches ended with 2 cents for the cows. It is not for nothing that we sometimes jokingly say: "The good one for the cows". So be sensible with the current prices and don't gamble too much.'
Lesser quality
Apart from the warm weather, last autumn also caused a high pressure of disease. This manifested itself in, among other things, more leaf spot disease. The presence of bugs also increases, especially in warm years. Control is problematic, as proper pyrethroids are not allowed. That makes bugs a bigger problem for cultivation than the carrot fly.
As a result, the average quality does not reach the high level that was achieved across the board in 2015/2016. 'The lesser parties were cleared early on. What remains now are beautiful parts from the mechanical cooling. We do notice that the internal aging of the product at the beginning of May was further than we are used to. Perhaps this is the cause of a hot September. It has not passed us without consequences.'
Area stable
In addition to a stock inventory, the latest figures of which are not yet in, the growers' association also questions its participants about the acreage. An initial forecast shows that the acreage will remain stable, comparable to the level of 2016. The price recovery in April came too late for the "lucky seekers", who wanted to quickly expand their acreage. The cultivation is also not affected by the malaise on the carrot market.
Niels van der Boom
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