The Dutch Spring cauliflower season has been in full swing for a few weeks. "The season began disappointingly. There were too many cauliflowers from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. The warm weather has also meant a poorer quality in the fields and difficult sales", says cauliflower grower, Ton Slagter from the firm, P.N. Slagter in Andijk.
There was, however, a sharp rise in prices on Wednesday. "The price rose from 45 to 75 cent. We run our cultivation on a schedule, so I expect that we will have a limited supply in the coming weeks. This will result in a reasonable price. The supply has stabilised.", says Ton. "The market situation is, of course, highly dependent on the weather. The sunny barbecue weather from ten days ago along with the public holidays meant very few cauliflowers were sold. But now cauliflowers are moving again."
"In the past few weeks, there were often days when cauliflowers were sold at only 25 to 30 cent at auction. This is far too little for this expensive cultivation. But you must look at it over the whole season. Soon we are going go start with the cheaper cultivation. If we get good prices, things balance out. The winter cauliflower season, which is done on a small-scale in the Netherlands, also went very well," says the farmer.
The cauliflower seems to be gaining popularity in recent years. "We are surpassing kale. From cauliflower rice to pizza bases made of cauliflower - this contributes to the positive appeal of the product", says Ton. "For a long time the cauliflower was seen to be a kind of senior vegetable, but young people are also eating it. And the older people are welcome to eat it; there are enough 65-plussers in the Netherlands."
