to avoid mustard shortages, growers in Burgundy are relaunching their production

“The culture of mustard is really the recovery!” Fields as far as the eye can see south of Dijon and new seeds that cereal farmer Damien Baumont is preparing to sow in 15 days. A crop that he had completely abandoned two years ago in the face of difficulties: bad weather, insect attacks and not very encouraging prices. But the shortage of recent months has completely changed the situation. “In the stores, it’s a little crazy”says the farmer.

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It will soon be possible to eat mustard again without rationing. The shelves of our supermarkets should begin to fill up again in the coming weeks. The shortage of recent months should not happen again in the future because French producers, in Burgundy in particular, have decided to work twice as hard.

It is usually from Canada that 80% of the mustard seeds consumed in France come from. This country was hit by drought in 2021, so the industrialists without a solution asked the historical growers in Burgundy to produce more with good arguments, in particular financial ones. “Five or six years ago, mustard was around 800 to 850 euros per tonneexplains Damien Baumont. And to try to re-motivate producers, to replant a little, we went up to 1,350 euros per ton. This is what we buy from producers. For the year 2023, the price will be 2,000 euros.” As a result, nearly 350 cereal growers are now starting or relaunching mustard in the region.

“There are new ones, of course, but there are also, it’s true, all the old producers who have know-how, who had slightly reduced their surfaces and who have really given the package.”

Damien Baumont, grain farmer

at franceifno

At the other end of the chain “it’s all in the pipes”, launches Luc Vandermaesen. In this queen factory in Dijon, where the mustard pots are filling up in rhythm, the boss regains hope. “We have almost doubled the number of farmers who will grow Burgundy seeds for next year’s harvest.Explain Luke Vandermaesen. And the surfaces will increase considerably. We will reach more than 10,000 hectares, we will multiply the quantity by two and a half. And that is very good news.”

Both are confident that mustard will gradually return to the shelves from October. “Let the French be reassured, we will not run out of mustard for the next barbecues” explains the farmer Damien Baumont. So we will have to wait until next summer? “The harvest we have just had is the one that will be transformed into a pot which will be available for the months of May and June next year”, replies the cereal farmer. But many envision a real return to normal beginning in January 2023.