The Hollebeekhoeve in Kruibeke, the very first CO₂ neutral dairy producer in our country, has filed for bankruptcy. Still, it seems that there will soon be a buyer for the dairy producer, who is also the sponsor of cyclo-cross rider Jens Adams. “Everything points in the right direction.”
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Kristof Simoens, Dante Bellon
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You are probably familiar with the yoghurt pots, milk bottles and the ice cream of Hollebeekhoeve. Today, everywhere in the shops and many Antwerp coffee bars work with the products of the dairy producer. The company can also be found in cyclo-cross as a sponsor of Jens Adams. On Thursday, however, the news came that the people of Kruibeken had filed for bankruptcy.
Still, white smoke seems to be coming out of the polder village quickly, because our editorial team has already confirmed that talks are underway with a potential buyer. The employees, coffee bars and Jens Adams don’t have to worry too much for the time being: “The people at Hollebeekhoeve have told me that everything will be fine and I trust them. Everything will become clearer in the coming weeks, but now the season is also over and I am preparing for the summer. So I’m not too worried at the moment.”
© dvk
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Substantial investments and high costs
The company had invested heavily to become the first dairy producer in our country to become CO₂ neutral in the summer of 2020, but in the same year it recorded a loss of 1.8 million euros on a turnover of 12.2 million euros. The heavy investments became a millstone and the sharp rise in energy and other production costs was too much for it.
Any bankruptcies?
According to the Belgian Confederation of the Dairy Industry (BCZ), the Hollebeekhoeve is not an isolated case. “Most producers of drinking milk, as we call milk in bottles and briquettes in the sector, are currently making significant losses,” says Renaat Debergh, Managing Director at BCZ. “They saw their production costs per liter of milk rise by 22 cents in one year, which is no less than 40 percent. In the price negotiations with retail chains in October, they received only 4 cents extra per litre. But after that, the costs started to rise explosively. The retail chains refuse to renegotiate those contracts, which have gradually become strangulation contracts. They are hiding behind the price negotiations that are currently underway, but the result will only take effect from 1 June. And that might be too late for some companies.”
The end of the price increases is not yet in sight, says Debergh: “The real milk price is gradually approaching 50 cents per litre. In the month of January it was still 47.04 cents. By way of comparison: a year earlier it was 33.25 cents.”
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