Strawberry variety Elsanta has kept its grip on the berry business at Belgian auction houses. Hoogstraten sells only strawberries and marketing manager Dieter Van Staen estimates this year’s production to be up 15 per cent on last year. With 17.5 million kg expected, 92 per cent of this will be Elsanta and eight per cent Darselect.
At Borgloon up to 10mkg of strawberries are expected - 6mkg of Elsanta and 4mkg of Selva and there are no major changes expected at Brava which sold 299,189 tonnes of strawberries (mainly Elsanta and Darselect) in 2003. Elsanta accounted for 85 per cent of the 2.1mkg of strawberries sold by REO in 2003, with more strawberry growers this year and with plants heavier than usual, strawberry specialist Els Callemein, expects an increase in production. REO also markets a limited amount of Tulameen raspberries and currants. “We continue to experiment with new varieties,” says Callemein, “but the standard varieties remain the most popular.”
5,000t of strawberries are expected at BFV. Two thirds of this will be Elsanta, 18 per cent Darselect and 12.5 per cent of Selve. “Elsanta remains the most important,” says marketing manager Koen Torfs, “but the share of Darselect is growing each year. In addition Isaura developed by BFV grower Jean Moors, is showing promising results. As the production of this variety starts very late, it could be the ideal strawberry to harvest after the Elsanta harvest has finished.”
Borgloon is also known for other berries. Some 600t of red currants are expected this year - a decrease on 2003 due to some smaller companies stopping production. “The main variety is Rovada, a late ripening variety. Others are Junifer and Jonkheer van Tets,” says berry specialist Eddy Bal.
“Raspberries and blackberries will be more widely available, thanks to an increase in protected production and the season will also be extended. The main blackberry variety is Loch Ness while popular raspberry varieties are Tulameen and Glen Ample.”
Etienne Leclère, salesman at Haspengouw, reveals that some strawberry producers have partly turned to a production of other berries instead of strawberries. “At Veiling Haspengouw, there is a bigger planted area of raspberries and blackberries,” he says. “By turning to other berries growers are able to spread the risk by producing different products.” Despite this, there is a 10-15 per cent increase of the planted area for early strawberries because of good prices last year.”
Strawberry quality is reported to be good this year. Although in some cases plants are a week to 10 days late in their development compared to last season. Plants suffered from a lack of light in March, says Hoogstraten’s Van Staen, and so development was delayed. There are also more heavy plants, says REO’s Callemein, and these are always later in production.
At Borgloon, Bal adds that winter conditions were exceptional and although it was cold there were no heavy frosts or snow, so the plants did not suffer. “We do expect increased production this year,” says Bal. “Flowers on the plants have developed gradually which will result in an uninterrupted supply. The quality of strawberries at present is excellent and the cool and cloudy weather has resulted in substantial fruit.”
Open field strawberry production will begin at the end of May for REO. “Weather conditions play a very important role,” says Leclère, “even more than for protected production. The first week of May was a bit too dark, so the plants were slow to develop. Raspberries are even more fragile, so are more often grown under protection but the quality will be good this year because there was no spring frost to damage the flowers. Pollination went very well and we had good weather during the flowering period. If we don’t have bad weather now then the quality of all our berries will be excellent.”
Starting this year REO will be selling strawberries under the Flandria label. BFV is anticipating a higher demand from retailers for better traceability and has started working on providing higher levels of traceability on its packaging with a unique number for each pallet. To conform to its new house style BFV has also developed new packaging.
Other developments at the auction houses include a new fruit shed with cooling cells at Brava. Seven million euros have been invested in a new cooled, storage room with wet circulation cells at Borgloon while BFV has increased its capacity for the storage of redcurrants and the sorting capacity for sweet cherries in response to the demands of the distribution chain.
Haspengouw is working on different projects that will be operational in July. It hopes to develop a night shipping area in order to better its service and has also built a new cooling system with a flexible steering mechanism, so each product can be stored at optimum condition.
Belgian auctions have well-established markets for their berry offers. The UK, the Netherlands, France and Germany remain the most important export markets for Hoogstraten. Scandinavia is also increasing in prominence and Van Staen expects a positive influence from EU extension in terms of a higher strawberry consumption, however he believes inflation will have negative effects and the auction house continues to look for new contacts.
At BFV, Torfs says: “Strawberries are mainly exported to our neighbouring countries, as well as to Scandinavia. The new countries that have entered the EU are at a disadvantage in terms of location. Proximity is an important consideration in the trade of fresh soft fruit.”
80 per cent of Haspengouw’s production is exported mainly to Scandinavia, Germany the UK and France at the end of the season. “The Scandinavian market tolerates much higher prices than other countries,” says Leclère.
Belgian auctions also engage in a variety of promotional activities. Brava promotes its strawberries in Belgium by sponsoring Strawberry Day in the village Pamel, and the strawberry exhibition in Melsele. REO has a promotional truck painted with strawberries and the Flandria logo and is currently developing an exhibition stand to promote strawberries at different events.
As Borgloon no longer shares its mark with Veiling Haspengouw, both auctions have restyled their packaging. In Borgloon, the new packaging only mentions Eburon and shows the different sorts of soft fruit from the auction. (see picture) For its Eburon mark, Borgloon auction also have a hot air balloon and is planning to promote itself at hot air balloon events.
New developments in Hoogstraten include investment in the sales room, making it possible to sell on six different clocks.
The auction strongly believes in the clock system, says Van Staen because demand and offer can be matched within a short time.
In October this year, REO will start a new building project in order to store produce in optimal condition. REO director Noël Keersebilck, says: “The central part of the receipt will be completely cooled. In an area of about 20,000sqm, there will be zones at 14°C, 7°C and 4°C, allowing the products to be stored according to their individual needs just after having passed the quality control. The wet flow through cooling system for quick cooling without dehydration of the leafy vegetables will be renewed also. The total cost is estimated to be s7.5 million.”
In terms of traceability a project will be implemented to ensure that all products are completely traceable. “On receipt at the auction each pallet board will be assigned a unique number which is the core of the system. Currently it is in barcode form but in the long term it will be possible to use a tag. Primarily the product supplier will be linked to the pallet number and then the buyer will also be linked in order to supply a connection between production and the buyer. The cost of this system is estimated to be s3.5m.”
By far the biggest market for REO is Germany. “The Netherlands, France and the UK are also important export markets,” says Keersebilck. “Eastern Europe is developing slowly but the expansion of the EU means that new possibilities exist.
“In the short term, developments in the new countries could cause some problems there may well be problems with production increasing more quickly than consumption, however in the long-term production costs will increase so there will be a new balance. The fact is that now more than ever Western European growers will have to focus on modernisation and the delivery of top quality produce.”
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