” At the moment, we do not have much information on the harvest of our overseas neighbors in terms of volumes. Canadians are speculators. They don’t make many offers on the market hoping to see prices go up, like in the heart of the shortage “, Observes Luc Vandermaesen, general manager of the Reine de Dijon company (165 employees, 50 million turnover).
Even if the producer remains confident on the areas sown this year, he will still have to wait a few months to receive his raw material, in sufficient quantity to meet the needs of the market. Harvesting across the Atlantic, in fact, arrives in Europe, by sea, by the end of the year, and is a time-consuming transport because the seeds are subject to traceability checks at every stage of the journey.
At the Reine de Dijon farm, the manager still uses the seeds from the 2021 harvest sparingly. From the start of the shortage, we have a production vision of just 10 days “, He specifies. However, the company never broke off its lines, nor did it resort to partial unemployment.
The solution of the Ukrainian or Russian seeds, definitively abandoned?
This situation of ultra-dependence on Canadian seeds could have changed if the Russian-Ukrainian conflict had not erupted last February. ” Usually Russians and Ukrainians produce blond seeds, but they are also capable of producing brown seeds which we use in Dijon mustard »Explains Luc Vandermaesen. ” We know there are reserves of brown seeds but, with the war, no one has been able to get their hands on them … “, he continues.
The advantage of Ukraine or Russia is proximity which avoids boat transport and saves time. ” Some industrialists would have asked Ukraine to sow in April 2022, for a harvest in September. Admits Luc Vandermaesen. However, “ neither Ukraine nor Russia are aware of our level of requirements in terms of seed quality for Dijon mustard. That is why they have never been a major source of supply Acknowledges the industrialist.
Prices rise, the number of growers also grows (+ 315%)
What if the solution was to produce our mustard seeds in France? The only adjustment variable capable of tipping the scales is the price! ” The entire profession agreed to pay French farmers a higher price than in previous years as the price more than doubled between the 2022 and 2023 harvest. »Confides Luc Vandermaesen.
This price increase clearly encouraged Burgundian producers to sow mustard for those who no longer produced it and for those who did, sometimes to increase their production area. ” I grew 12 hectares of mustard every year and grew to 18 and a half “Says Vincent Beaunée, producer located in the Val de Saône, owner of a 60-hectare polyculture farm.
” We had already gone from 800 euros to 1,350 euros per ton for the 2022 harvest. For the 2023 harvest, the contract price to the producer is 2,000 euros per ton. “, He specifies. Enough to create emulation among the farmers of the Côte-d’Oriens, whose number of mustard growers went from 165 to … 520 in one year (+ 315%)!
This is a substantial increase in cultivated areas which, in the meantime, have increased from 4,500 hectares to 12,000 hectares.
” Our desire is obviously to anchor and develop this production locally “Says Laure Ohleyer, head of missions in the“ mustard sector ”at the Côte-d’Or Chamber of Agriculture.
This year, thanks to the mild climate and a blend that resists insect attacks, the Burgundian harvest was good, i.e. 6,000 tons collected compared to 4,000 in 2021.
With the doubling of cultivated areas, the 2023 harvest could reach 15,000 tons, if conditions permit, “cwhich would be an absolute record for seeds of French origin! »Enthused Luc Vandermaesen.
A real boost for the sector, which hopes to honor its tonnages next year with major producers such as Unilever or Reine de Dijon. ” We should be able to satisfy 50% of their needs “predicts Lauren Ohleyer. “Knowing that for small producers like the Fallot mustard factory, we are already 100% supply “, He specifies.
