First strawberries of 2019 to deliver 8,000 euros to

Hoogstraten is a Cooperative Hoogstraten had in 2018 a lower revenue due to less supply of tomatoes and strawberries, but focuses her arrows on 2019. That she does with the launch of a new aardbeisoort. The start of the season was, as always, started with the sale of the first two kilos of strawberries for a good cause: this year is 8,000 euro to Ups & Downs.

Cooperative Hoogstraten, in the vernacular of the still ‘the Auction’, closed in 2018 with an annual turnover of just under 221 million euros. That is still about seven percent lower. That is partly explained by a lesser supply of the strawberries.

“It certainly was not a wonderful year,” says Luc Bruneel of Cooperative Hoogstraten. “By the hot summer there was, for example, with strawberries, with less fruit set. Eventually, it was just a little more than 29 million kilograms delivered while other years raft about the thirty million.”

Novelties

The Society takes this year off with a new aardbeisoort: the Limalexia. “That will be especially a strawberry for the summer,” said Bruneel. “They are mainly grown in soil. This year We are going to the comments to wait and then we will see if we there's plenty on bets.”

End plastic receptacle?

Also notable: the by everyone well-known creaking plastic container may disappear. This year is a first test done with the GOLD-strawberry. That will be in cardboard boxes to be sold. “If the test is bad, it is the intention that all the plastic is replaced. But the results should be favorable, because fruit is very sensitive to the material in which it is packed.”

charity

The start of the new season traditionally goes hand in hand with the official auction of the first two kilograms. The lucky buyer was, this year, Wim Peeters of Delidis, a subsidiary of Peeters-Govers. They count, 4,000 euro for down and the Cooperative doubles that amount.

“We wanted for a few years, but last year we were just too late. This year, and we would be,” laughs Wim. “We are a wholesale trade company that mainly supplies horeca establishments, but also shops and supermarkets. Small start, but in the meantime, we are working with Delidis only 85 people.”

Maaike Cafmeyer

The charity is this year the vzw Ups & Downs that caring for people with chronic depression or bipolar disorder. Feet, Maaike Cafmeyer was sure special to Hoogstraten subsided. Erika Danckaers of Ups & Downs: “We are very grateful for this generous gift. Our organization works entirely on the basis of volunteers. With the money we want to especially lotgenotenbijeenkomsten organize. In addition, we want psychological vulnerability bring to the attention and the stigma of poverty. As we organize numerous lectures in schools and institutions, and that we want this year is also open to companies.”