“Shelves will be replenished in October”: To remedy the current shortage of mustard, Burgundy producers of the seeds used in making the condiment will more than double their output, largely supplanted by Canadian competition so far. In supermarkets, hypermarkets, and grocery stores across France, jars of Dijon mustard are rare, if not absent. “One pot per household” restricts the number of posters pasted on empty shelves.
The shortage, which largely predates the war in Ukraine, is in fact attributable to the heat wave that cut Canada’s 2021 mustard seed crop in half. The world’s leading producer, this country provides about 80% of the seed, the remaining 20% being produced almost entirely in Burgundy. “It is therefore very important to increase this percentage to deal with climatic risks that are different from one country to another,” Luc Vandermaesen, president of the Burgundy Mustard Association (AMB), which includes AFP, explains to AFP. mustard and mustard seed growers. .
“There is a concern about relocation”
Once widespread, the local cultivation of seeds had made the Dijon region’s reputation since the Middle Ages, but a multiplication of insect attacks, which the sector can no longer combat with chemicals now banned, has divided production for three in four years. , from 12,000 tons in 2017 to 4,000 tons in 2021, while mustard producers wanted 16,000. But “the Canadian problems have revived the importance of the sector in Burgundy”, explains Fabrice Genin, president of the Association of Mustard Seed Producers of Burgundy (APGMB).
“Yes, there is a relocation concern. We can’t put all our eggs in one basket,” said Luc Vandermaesen, also managing director of “Reine de Dijon,” France’s third-largest mustard producer. For this reason, in June a call was launched to local producers with the aim of multiplying by 2.5 the areas planted with seeds, that is, 10,000 hectares compared to 4,000 in 2022. To motivate them, the mostareros got their hands dirty: “We have more than doubled the price” offered for Burgundy seed between the 2021 and 2023 harvests, confesses Luc Vandermaesen.
From 900 euros in 2021, prices had risen to 1,300 euros in 2022, already causing a halving of production. By 2023, the mostazadores offer 2,000 euros per ton. At this price, candidates flocked. “The call has been heard: we have a little more than the 10,000 hectares that were wanted and the number of producers has increased from 160 to more than 500. This is more than expected,” explains Jérôme Gervais, mustard expert at the Chamber of agriculture. of the Gold Coast. Because the tempting price has turned the lost sheep back to mustard. Like François Détain, a farmer from Agencourt (Côte d’Or): “the price they offer us allows us to stick our necks out”, even with the fertilizer boom due to the war in Ukraine, he explains.
“The seed fits well” in relation to cereals
François Détain had abandoned this crop in 2019 due to a “catastrophic yield with a very dry spring and insects”. But today, “the seed is well placed” against cereals, rapeseed or sunflower. “Especially since there has been a drop in grain and oilseed prices.” “For us it is a kind of revenge to be able to replant a local culture,” he says. The cost of freight, which has skyrocketed since 2021, has also put into perspective the higher price of Burgundy seed compared to Canadian, by “15-20%”, according to Jérôme Gervais.
As a result, “we should produce 15,000 tons in 2023,” or 40% of mustard needs. “We will be the second seed producers serving Dijon”, behind Canada, greets the expert. “Shelves will therefore be replenished in October” thanks to the already larger 2022 Burgundy harvest, then “the shortage will completely disappear by early 2023,” Luc Vandermaesen predicts. “We’re very confident for Christmas,” he says.
Source: BFM TV
