In 2019, Belgian fruit and vegetables producer BelOrta achieved a record turnover of 451 million euros – owing to the strong growth in organic produce.
Record
The turnover growth might be minute (+ 0.3 %), but it allows the Belgian co-operative to achieve its biggest turnover ever. BelOrta also achieved a record volume of 502 million kilos of fresh fruit and vegetables. The fact that the company speaks of “mixed results” is due to the bad weather conditions (cold spring, hot and dry summer) which hampered production. However, vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers profited from the very same conditions as the heat lifted demand for those products.
The same warm, dry summer caused an international spike in apple and pear production, putting pressure on prices. Also, cherries had an absolute blast of a year, with total production amounting to 2.7 million kilos.
The most important growth in BelOrta came from its organic produce, which had a 40 % raise and grew in all indicators: number of farmers, area size and product range. The latter has already grown to a hundred organic references.
