Steady Performance and Promising Prospects in Bell Pepper Sales
Bell peppers have become one of the top-selling greenhouse vegetables at Combilo, with Rob van der Bas representing pepper sales for many years and Tom van der Meer joining as pepper product manager in October 2023. “Peppers are a product group that presents many challenges every year, from growing to trading. Every year is different, and we are noticing that again this year,” says Tom van der Meer.
High Quality Despite Weather Challenges
The Netherlands has experienced fewer sunshine hours this year compared to the start of 2023, impacting yield. However, the challenge remains to keep the crop strong and avoid drop-outs. “It’s nice to see that so far there are virtually no quality problems with the peppers,” states van der Meer.
Market Dynamics and Price Stability
While prices were slowly dropping last week, they have stabilized and begun to rise again. Availability is reasonable, but demand exceeds supply, resulting in fine sales and reasonable prices. Green peppers are comparatively cheaper due to the early availability of Polish peppers. It won’t be long before Polish red peppers enter the market as well.
Retail orders have increased slightly due to good weather, and wholesale demand is ensuring that stocks keep up without oversupply. “Nationwide, the acreage in red pepper is the largest. Yellow and orange peppers often serve a specific market. For instance, when Americans buy from the Netherlands, they tend to choose yellow and orange peppers,” van der Meer notes. These peppers are also included in color mixes, reaching consumers in packaged form.
Diversified Product Offerings
Combilo strives to offer a wide range of peppers to cater to diverse customer needs. “Nowadays, we can even guarantee the residual flows since the establishment of Combilo Food Solutions, where the peppers are processed into purees,” adds van der Meer.
Optimistic Outlook
Combilo anticipates that consumers will eat more peppers in the coming period, given the favorable weather forecast. “Together with all our colleagues, we have been putting Dutch greenhouse vegetables on the map in Europe for 100 years, and we will continue to do so,” concludes van der Meer.
