Veiling Hoogstraten ends the current year with a new record: no fewer than 20,000,000 kg of strawberries were auctioned by the clock.

A few words of explanation about that enormous quantity:

• Veiling Hoogstraten can supply every Belgian with 2kg of strawberries each year
• 20 mill. kg = 5 mill. crates = 40 mill. punnets = 41.666 pallets
• If you put all the strawberries that went through Veiling Hoogstraten in 2006 end to end, they would stretch around the world!
• If you put all the crates of strawberries side by side on football pitches, you would need 150 pitches to do it!
• These 20 million kg strawberries are grown on 847 hectares (= 8,470,000 m²)
• The city of Antwerp could be filled 4 times over with strawberries supplied through Veiling Hoogstraten in 2006.

Strawberry growing in the Northern Kempen has undergone a real metamorphosis in the last 20 years: there has been a switch from occasional cultivation and growing for industry to professional, all-year round growing for the fresh market. Together with the expansion of the glasshouses crops of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, Veiling Hoogstraten ended the current financial year with produce sales of 109 million € or 6% more than in 2005.  Strawberries account for 51 million € or 47.5% of total sales.

The supplies of strawberries through Veiling Hoogstraten has now reached a level that clearly makes it a player on the European stage. There are very few sales organisations that have this kind of sales volume of strawberries.

The increase in the strawberry trade at Veiling Hoogstraten is the result of a number of deliberate choices: the sales technique, in which the clock plays a central role; the transparent price formation associated with it; the choice of Elsanta as the main variety; a high level of quality awareness among growers and the family character of the way the business is managed, which supports that quality mentality.

An important step in the growth of Veiing Hoogstraten in the direction of further concentration of strawberry supplies was the cooperation since 1996 with the Profruco auction in St. Niklaas (East Flanders) and a year later with CLTV Zundert (North-Brabant - Nl.).  Arrivals amounted to 4,100 tonnes in 1986; 8,600 tonnes in 1996 and exceedds 20,000 tonnes in 2006: a five-fold increase in 20 years.
At the beginning of 2006, the cooperation between the three partners was confirmed by setting-up of the In-Co joint venture in which the participants clearly demonstrated their determination to continue down their chosen path, and extend their cooperation to other forms of activity and different products.

The economic situation in strawberry growing has changed rapidly in recent years. Where in the past, the competition came from Spain and France, occurred during the spring and there was little or no competition for the late harvest (from July), the focus of the competition is precisely in the summer and autumn months. It is mainly production in neighbouring countries (United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland, …) that are increasing the pressure in the marketplace.  Recent summers - partly due to a heat wave - have also led to low prices due to bumper European crops. Despite all of this, the current year is ending with a price that is slightly higher than last year.

The confidence that growers have in the Hoogstraten model has been emphasised by this record tonnage of arrivals. Veiling Hoogstraten will continue on the same path this year, working in close cooperation with the In-Co auctions, producers, customers and other contacts.

In growing vegetables under glass, the expansion in the sales of specialty tomatoes and peppers deserves mention. In 2007, specialty tomatoes will be grown on 10% of the acreage. Notwithstanding the gradual switch to specialty tomatoes, the total arrivals of tomatoes are increasing and will exceed the 40,000 tonne mark again. A slight rise in arrivals of tomatoes and peppers is forecast for next year too.

Ludo Adriaensen from Merksplas with his children, the producer who supplied the 20 millionth kg!