Message from Gerard Backx

2020/2021 will go down in history as the year when everything was called into question. Coronavirus held the world in its grip and impacted on everything and everybody. The impact was felt by HZPC too. Every year we focus on growth, but this year HZPC SBA Europe simply had to tread water. The fries industry applied the handbrake because the consumption of fries reduced significantly due to lock-downs in various countries. Oil prices dropped dramatically and tourists stayed away, so several important sales countries found themselves without hard currency. They, in turn, imported fewer seed potatoes than expected. STET Holland, a significant supplier to the fresh market and crisps producer PepsiCo, had a slightly easier ride. Domestic consumption of potatoes and crisps increased. STET Holland also managed to maintain its market share and even substantially increase it in North Africa. STET Holland thus improved its results compared to the previous financial year, while HZPC Europe had to accept reduced profits. HZPC has had a bank account in Lebanon for years. As a result of political instability in this country, however, HZPC had to write-off much of the funds in this account. This issue had a huge impact on HZPC’s results. Nevertheless, the number of tons of varieties that were sold by HZPC and its licence-holders grew slightly, to over 900,000 tons. This is due to the growth of a few licence-holders in America, Africa and Asia.

The developments pushed us towards taking a new, more critical look at operations and our working methods. We were able to travel much less and many of our operational tasks could be carried out from home. Meetings conducted using remote technology also worked well in many cases. This has also resulted in a saving in operational costs. Physical contact, however, remains vital for processes such as building new relationships and introducing varieties. We are still investing in HZPC’s premium capital, i.e. its workers. As an organisation, we are constantly developing. This means we must ensure workers have opportunities to develop on a personal and professional level so that HZPC can continue to focus on sustainable growth, along with its employees, growers, customers and partners.

The demand for new technologies, digitalisation and the use of data is constantly expanding. In turn, there is a huge burden of expectation on HZPC, as an important global player and market leader. This corresponds with new methods of collaboration and internal processes that seamlessly link into one another. In this way, more time is left for improvements and new developments. With the ultimate aim of supplying the best products and services to our growers and customers. And to continue to grow.

I am incredibly proud of how our employees, growers, customers and partners have demonstrated resilience, flexibility and innovative capabilities in this financial year. It has enabled us to grow in many areas. It makes me feel overwhelmingly positive as I look towards the future.

The long-term perspective – HZPC Keeps you growing – has remained unchanged. This is despite concerns about certain aspects, such as the expansion of the Wadden Sea inland, limitations in international banking traffic with sanctioned countries, and the ban on gene editing. With everything that HZPC has to offer, and the chances and opportunities that are available, we must not hold back from developing and providing a substantial contribution towards worldwide food security.

You can read more about it in this report.

Happy reading,

Gerard Backx