Wereldwijd gesmaakt: export van Belgische lekkernijen
Van frietjes met mayonaise tot chocolade en bier: Belgische lekkernijen veroveren vanuit de haven de hele wereld. Waar gaan ze precies naartoe?
Nowadays, whether you find yourself in New York, Dubai, or Sydney, you can easily order a delicious pack of Belgian fries with authentic sauce, or savour a pint of Belgian beer accompanied by a praline. The port was the starting point for their journey!
Fries for the whole world
Agristo, a family business in West Flanders, yields a staggering 900 million kilogrammes of fries each year. That equates to roughly 3.6 billion servings! They rely on their strategic location near Port of Antwerp-Bruges for distribution.
We live in the potato belt. Fertile soils, ideal for potato cultivation. These fields are located in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.
Carmen Wallays, Chief Supply Chain and Operations Officer at Agristo.
First, it stores its fries, crafted from over three hundred recipes, in fully automated warehouses. There, the temperature is consistently -25° Celsius, with low oxygen levels. This prevents fires and enhances the preservation of the fries. The fries are then transported in custom-designed refrigerated containers.
Cold storage is positioned in close proximity to barge terminals. From there, containers are transported via inland waterways to major seaports like the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, and then distributed globally. Agristo mitigates road traffic by employing inland navigation transport. This enhances sustainability and reduces congestion. These efforts earned it a Baanbrekers award, recognising innovation and sustainability in logistics.
You can't have fries without mayonnaise
The Antwerp family business, Manna, exports over 700 containers of hot and cold sauces annually, ranging from Bolognese to mayonnaise, to more than 60 countries across multiple continents.
The company further customises its sauce recipes to meet the specific tastes of each destination country For example, Dutch preferences lean towards a sweeter taste, while French recipes incorporate mustard into mayonnaise for added acidity. Belgium occupies a middle ground.
The strategic location of Manna's production facility along the Albert Canal optimises its export capabilities via the port. The company utilizes intelligent stacking methods to optimize container loading of jars and buckets. This ensures the sauces arrive at their final destination in optimal condition.
We're riding on the coattails of Belgium's excellent food reputation. And authentic Belgian fries require the right sauce, naturally.
Sylvie Van den Broeck, CEO of Manna.
Other Belgian goodies
Of course, Belgian cuisine extends far beyond just fries. Did you know Belgium is home to the world's largest chocolate factory? And did you know the Boortmalt malthouse in Antwerp is the world's largest? They produce 470,000 tonnes of malt annually, enough to brew a staggering 16 billion beers! Despite the allure of chocolate and beer, we could never consume it all ourselves. Thankfully, the port facilitates its eager consumption by the rest of the world.
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