"The impact of the flooding on Dutch field vegetable cultivation has been significant," says buyer Chris Hoek of Heemskerk fresh&easy from Rijnsburg. "So far, Dutch growers cannot yet speak of a worry-free season. April and May were months in which rainfall records were broken. The problem was not just the total amount of rainfall, but also how and where it fell. Large amounts of rain in a short time caused a lot of disruption. And after a wet winter that left the ground heavily saturated, there was hope for a good spring, but unfortunately, that has not materialized."

"Due to the wet soils, growth is disappointing; plots have to be skipped because the heads lag in growth, and what is harvested is smaller and lighter than desired. We see this especially in lettuce varieties and endives, and this could cause gaps in the cultivation plan later in the season. Due to continuous rain, lettuce varieties are also starting to show other defects, such as blight," the buyer continues.

"However, to date, the problems have been most visible in spinach cultivation. Hailstorms in the first weeks of the season already caused hail damage; later, many fields of spinach across the Netherlands were flooded and lost. The spinach that can be harvested is often of lower quality due to the wet cultivation conditions. If this erratic weather continues, growers foresee even more problems, also with crops where it is not yet visible," concludes Chris.

Commercial Director Ronny Bruijnen of growers' association Fossa Eugenia confirms this. "We've had the wettest spring since 1983. The problem is that people sometimes think the problems are over as soon as the sun starts to shine again, but that always takes longer than expected. The plants that have gone through this ordeal are still affected for several weeks, and that impact is often underestimated."

"Especially in spinach, we now see big 'struggles' in supply and quality. Iceberg lettuce also took a lot of hits, including red discoloration and blight as a result. It's not that there was no iceberg lettuce available, but the challenges were significant due to the water issues. Fortunately, we are now seeing recovery in the market, but it will take some time for the export market to regain confidence in the product."

"Essentially, all field vegetables have been affected by the flooding in one way or another, and this has led to many vegetables being well-priced. For example, the old leek was scarce here and there, leading to good demand for the new leek. Although it was still somewhat thin, it was of good quality. The courgette production is also not really picking up yet."

Source - https://www.freshplaza.com