“In the recent past, we’ve had extremely high prices for chicory. Prices were between 2 and 2.50 euro per kilo. That’s very high for the time of year. I’d prefer a nice average, year-round price over highs and lows. It’s difficult to do business when prices are this high,” says Bart Bruyninckx from the company with the same name. The low supply of chicory is one of the reasons for the high prices, as is the mediocre quality. “Last year we were affected by moisture and at the end of the root season, which isn’t good for quality. The date of sowing also affects quality. Growers who sowed mid-August this year will have more problems than growers who sowed earlier.”

Consumption
“Demand for chicory has been fairly constant this summer. We’re now seeing demand rising slightly. Demand for chicory usually peaks around the holidays. It’s considered a proper winter vegetable, but it’s also becoming more popular to use chicory in salads,” says Roel de Winter of ORCA. According to the trader, the supply of chicory is now increasing. “Growers have been sparse with their old harvest. The market situation is now becoming a bit more average again.”

Winter vegetables
The other winter vegetables such as leek and celeriac were also affected by the dry weather. “Most of the winter vegetables are a bit delayed. Weight and quality of the vegetables also suffered due to the dry weather. We’re now noticing the leek isn’t heavy enough. However, we’ve been catching up in the past two weeks,” Roel says. Prices for leek are more than 1 euro, and that’s high for the time of year. “I expect we’ll have a difficult export season because of the high price levels.”

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