TRADE AND MARKETING Qualituber supplies transparently-grown, basic seed to order ‘We’re looking for a more custom-made market approach’, Jan Willem Sepers(r) tells a customer. isn’t about one sale, but a long-term commitment. If you decide today to buy second year S seed, it’ll take three years before the final delivery can take place. And it’s only then that the customer’s story starts. He or she should know by then how to propagate seed’, Sepers emphasises. Wide customer group Sepers is aiming for a wide customer group as potential buyers of his top-quality planting stock. ‘Many European trading companies don’t themselves have the possibility of cultivating high-quality basic seed. We can organise that for them, while they remain in control. Moreover, processing industries are looking for partners who can supply top-quality material for their growers abroad. Second-year cultivation of healthy planting stock means that local growers run fewer cultivation risks and the industry is assured of good quality French fries or crisps potatoes’, is Sepers’ firm conviction. Sepers also sees potential for supplying basic seed to Northeast Africa, also known as the Horn of Africa. ‘In countries like Kenya, there are already plenty of opportunities to grow seed potatoes. We already have applications to propagate basic seed from local varieties. It’s also important here to work together with the right partners, otherwise we won’t succeed in laying a proper foundation for potato cultivation’, the director observes. Getting away from traditional thinking Does Qualituber mean the end of the trading companies? ‘No, certainly not’, De Schutter answers firmly. ‘I think of it as a supplement to the user seed supplied by the trading companies. It’s an answer to the demand for basic seed. It fits the trend for the supply of a top-quality product. It may snatch a small part of the trade, but the total worldwide seed potato market will continue to rise. And there’ll always be plenty of areas and buyers that will never be able to cultivate basic seed. For us, Qualituber stands for breaking free from traditional thinking. We’re looking for a more custom-made approach. We’re going to provide new markets with high-quality material, which we’ll produce again - once, twice or three times if possible. The customer receives good basic seed that is guaranteed and the grower is fully paid for his expertise in growing basic seed’, De Schutter summarises. ● Jaap Delleman Potato World 2013 • number 3 31 Pagina 30
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