Full, good quality supply, but both domestically and abroad the sales are disappointing, according to Dennish Tricht of AGF Direct concerning the current situation of the cauliflower and broccoli market. "Growers are in a difficult situation. They are doing a lot of work but aren't being compensated for it. The prices are currently under the cost price. We can't do much to change that. Consumers are more likely to eat salads when it's warm and that's noticeable in sales."
AGF Direct operates from Noord-Holland where a lot of cauliflower and broccoli is available. "As far as cultivation climate and water supply goes we are in a favourable location, we are always able to irrigate. Growers have been getting up at 3am to move the winch for weeks. The crops are of good quality but the growers are getting tired. Normally there are 10 to 14 days of this kind of weather in the summer, but this period has lasted 10 weeks now."
Cauliflower is generally a popular and commonly eaten vegetable, but is still seen as a cooking vegetable despite the new application that have been found for it such as snacking vegetable, pizza base, rice and couscous. The sales of cauliflower are lower than those of broccoli at the moment, says Dennis. The sales of niche vegetables such as orange, purple and green cauliflower are also low, like those of the tower cauliflower Romanesco.
There is no real oversupply that the market needs to get rid of. In generally the Eastern European market is buying the products for a low price.
There seems to be an end coming to the high temperatures in the middle of this week. Consumers may then desire an alternative to the salads and the demand for cauliflower and broccoli may increase.
