The demand for carrots from Eastern Europe is reasonably good right now. But according to Marco de Vries from Vriemex in Nagele, the Netherlands there is not much that can be earned from carrots right now, "The price for washed carrots is around 20-22 cents, but the mood among farmers is good and they are also asking 20 cents. The price will have to increase next week for the processors. Initially it seemed as if there was a lot of demand coming from Eastern Europe because of the drought in Poland, but then it rained and the carrots continued to grow. But the yields there are still not high. I expect the demand from Eastern Europe to continue. There is not much demand from our neighboring countries, Belgium and Germany."
Vriemex buys and sells carrots for export to countries in Scandinavia and Central- and Eastern Europe, "We used to export to France as well, but the French growers eventually took over that market. It is not easy to compete with their fresh carrots (against our stored carrots)," says Marco. According to Marco, the yields are around 10% lower than last year, "In Groningen, the Netherlands the yields were somewhat higher, and here in Flevoland, the Netherlands the yields were lower again. Last year we had, on average, 140 boxes per hectare, now that number is around 120 boxes. It is important that the growers keep a close eye on the quality. We are now clearing out the lower quality carrots."
In addition to conventional carrots, Vriemex also exports organic carrots; but according to Marco, the demand for organic products in Eastern Europe is still limited, "This could increase in the future as the economy picks up, but right now they are demanding conventional (non-organic) products." Marco does not try to predict how the market will develop, "It is the beginning of December now. Our big sales period is in April, May and June. After that time you're even further along in the season. So much can still happen!"
