Collaboration brings exotic sweet potato to Limburg soil

In the battle for healthier food, the sweet potato is gaining ground on the regular potato. The demand for this tropical crop has increased significantly in recent years and it is now impossible to imagine life without it. Traditionally the sweet potato has been imported from countries such as the United States, Egypt and Honduras, but thanks to a great collaboration the first sweet potatoes from Limburg will soon be available exclusively at supermarket chain Plus.

Franc Goertz from Maria-Hoop is a grower of asparagus and blueberries. "For years we have been active in the cultivation of asparagus, asparagus plants and blueberries. For seven years now we have also been doing this in Portugal. A lot of sweet potatoes were grown there on nearby plots, and partly due to the changing climate in the Netherlands, we also saw opportunities to take up cultivation in our own country. We have been doing trials on a small scale for a few years, but saw so many opportunities that this year we went right in with 28 hectares," Franc says.

Nature's Pride

Goertz made contact with vegetable and fruit importer Nature's Pride to discuss his plans for growing sweet potatoes. They market a hefty volume of this vegetable within European retail every year, but never before has this involved Dutch sweet potatoes. "Last year we imported sweet potatoes from the United States, Egypt, Honduras, Spain, Costa Rica, Senegal and South Africa. On average, we sold at least 200,000 kilos per week," says buyer Sjaak van der Waaij. "It is a product group that has developed enormously in the last five years. We are taking a new step with the Dutch crop, and we expect to be able to offer sweet potatoes from our own land for at least five months. We expect that the sweet potato will continue to develop into a product with a stable market and that is important, because then everyone in the chain can earn something from it."

CO2 emissions

A second aspect played a role in Nature's Pride's enthusiasm to partner with Goertz. "Although Nature's Pride imports exotics via air and sea freight from all corners of the world, there is also an increasing focus on the possibilities closer to home," says account manager Frits de Bruin. "The change in climate offers new opportunities for crops that were previously not thought possible in the Netherlands. We are therefore testing several products. In this way we can drastically reduce our CO2 emissions. In addition, it is an express wish of our retail customers to source more local products. But to supply a supermarket, you need volume from growers who dare to invest.

Exclusive with Plus

The first customer Nature's Pride thought of was supermarket chain Plus, a retailer that works as much as possible with homegrown products. Purchaser Marijn Hilbrink says that Plus was happy to enter into this cooperation: "It fits in with the purchasing strategy of PLUS to work as much as possible with Dutch products. This allows us to serve our customers for more than five months per year entirely with sweet potatoes from the Netherlands and that is unique in the market. And that local aspect is becoming more and more important for our customers. There is a growing demand from consumers for responsible, honest products of regional origin."

The Cultivation

Franc Goertz's total acreage is about 250 hectares. With the 28 hectares he uses for sweet potatoes, it is by far the largest Dutch cultivation project for the fresh market. The main variety is the orange-fleshed variety Orleans, supplemented by the varieties Beauregard, Covington and Bellevue. The sweet potatoes are grown without the use of chemicals under biodegradable film.

The Limburger does not foresee any problems with the cultivation technique, also because the high sandy soils of the asparagus fields are ideal for growing sweet potatoes. The past three warm summers have also been perfect for growing sweet potatoes. The challenge, he says, is mainly in the labor. "There is a lot of manual labor involved. For planting in June and harvesting from September onwards, we need dozens of people. But fortunately we have a lot of experience in this with our other crops. In addition, the cultivation of sweet potatoes dovetails with the work in our other crops. In June, the asparagus season is over and in September we close the blueberry season," Goertz says.

Packaging

The sweet potatoes are delivered in reusable bins to Nature's Pride, where the products are sorted and packaged at the packaging site in the Westland. For this there is a new packaging line where the potatoes are brushed and sorted, also there is a quality check. Especially for the Dutch sweet potatoes, the importer developed a new cardboard packaging of 750 grams under the EAT ME brand, in which the product is clearly visible.

Potential

Supermarket Plus expects the popularity of the sweet potato to increase even further. Category manager Joost Hoes: "Although we serve a relatively traditional group of buyers, the sale of sweet potatoes has taken off in recent years. And the potential is still far from exploited. With many millennials already using sweet potatoes in abundance, their parents are also coming into contact with them. Sweet potatoes are still not on the shopping list of all our consumers, but with the right communication on the store floor and the local aspect, we expect to entice many more customers to make an impulse purchase. By offering the sweet potatoes both loose with the cooking vegetables and legumes and packaged with the potato shelf and running the necessary promotions, we expect to realize a substantial increase in sales."

From mid-September until at least mid-January, the Dutch sweet potatoes will be available exclusively at PLUS.

Source: AGF