The Food Center Amsterdam, the wholesale market close to the centre of Amsterdam, is home to the companies that fall under the Vroegop Ruhe & Co holding. An ideal location, Pieter Vroegop thinks. He also believes a cold reorganization round is needed to keep the sector healthy, and a price increase is required to tackle waste.
How will the fruit and veg sector look in ten years?
“I am hoping the overproduction will have been cleared away by then. It’s a pity that the Russian boycott has led to a set of support measures from the EU. It could well have been a push for further reorganization in the sector.”
Is a reorganization important for the sector?
“Yes, of course I don’t want anyone to have to close their company, but I think it’s the only solution. The compensation that’s being offered now, is just a delay. It’s not good for the pricing of the products either, and that in turn is bad for both grower and trade. I believe the compensation and delaying of the reorganization round causes more damage than a cold reorganization. It’s a Pavlovian response to call for support right away. There are domestic wholesalers who got into export because their position became untenable, but the products have to be transported farther and farther away, and focusing only on Russia might not be a good business strategy. Again, I don’t want anyone to close down, but a reorganization is necessary, also in light of sustainability.”
A reorganization is needed for sustainability. Could you clarify that?
“Low prices lead to unnecessary waste. Consumers who pay one Euro for a cucumber instead of 20 cents, are more likely to treat the product with care rather than throwing it away. Many people are worried about the amount of waste that’s produced across the globe, but meanwhile bananas are still sold for one Euro per kilo at the supermarket. That means the consumer is not concerned with the question whether to throw away or not. Let fruit and vegetables cost more, that also does more justice to the product and the grower’s efforts. The same applies to promotions on meat as well, by the way.”
But the consumer has gotten used to the cheap products. Will they accept a price increase just like that?
“If a consumer is forced to pay more for fruit and vegetables, the products will automatically be appreciated more.”
And finally the location at the Food Center in the middle of Amsterdam. That sounds like a logistical nightmare, but does this location also have advantages?
“The location of the Food Center is actually an advantage. Here at the centre, we have a full range of food products. The various sectors are all represented. The location close to the centre is also an advantage. There were plans to move the Food Center, but studies by the municipality show that the Food Center as it is now, is the best solution. Two major arguments can be given for that. Firstly, small independent entrepreneurs from the city centre can also easily purchase there. That makes the product range in the city centre larger and more attractive. Secondly, logistically it’s the best solution. If the Food Center was to move to outside the city, that would cause traffic problems. The Food Center functions as a logistical funnel. Most of the supply of products occurs outside the rush hour. If the centre was to move to the edge of the city, our customers would have to come to the centre with vans. That causes more traffic problems than a truck, which transports the cargo of roughly twenty vans at a time.”
