“Things are quiet on the carrot market at the moment," says Dirk de Maré of the Belgian company, Grimex. "All the countries still have carrots of their own. However, shortages are slowing occurring at washing plants."

"It is expected that they will need product in April again. It, however, remains to be seen what the market will do when the new carrots are harvested in the countries to the south. Israel is already on the market. But prices are too high for them to trade."

The past winter went reasonably well for the trader. "Prices were very good, but the volumes were, unfortunately, lacking. The batches quality fluctuated wildly. This was due to the dry weather. There were excellent, but also terrible, batches," explains Dirk.

Most of the Belgian carrots are destined for the French market. "Over the past five years, very little product has gone to England. This country, like Scotland, currently has enough carrots. I do not think Brexit will have much effect on the carrot market."

Successor
The new Belgian and Dutch carrots will come onto the market in mid-July again. "This still depends on the weather conditions. But, we did a lot of sowing a few weeks ago. If we have good weather in the coming spring, there is a good chance that we will have an early harvest.

"Grimex is also still looking for a successor. The work is varied but also speculative. We hope to find someone who can continue running our company well" .