Belgian vegetable processor Greenyard has achieved a double-digit sales growth last quarter, but owes that almost exclusively to price increases, which were necessary to offset increased costs.
Healthier lifestyle
In the first quarter of Greenyard’s 2023/24 broken financial year, net sales rose by 10.3 % to 1.3 billion euros. The fruit and vegetable processor managed to pass on increased costs to customers. Meanwhile, volumes sold remained almost stable at just + 0.2 %. Not only inflation, but also harvesting conditions and product availability play a role in price setting, the company stressed.
In the ‘fresh food’ segment, prices increased by 8.5 % and volumes by 0.6 %. Four-fifths of sales come from long-term cooperation agreements with major retailers, which guarantees stability, the company says. In the ‘long fresh’ segment (frozen and canned food), price increases even exceeded 18 %, but volumes fell by 2.1 %.
Greenyard still sees a lot of growth potential: compared to the pre-pandemic period, volumes are 4 % higher, but Europeans still consume well below the recommended intake of 400 grams of fruit and vegetables per day. The company aims to be a driving force to promote healthier lifestyles and increase consumption of plant-based foods.
