“The demand for seedless grapes increases every year,” explains CEO Ralf Wisser of the Frankfurt company Ralf Wisser. The wholesaler is active for more than 20 years in the fruit and vegetable trade. Therefore the expert knows: “Customers favor the seedless varieties, that much is clear.”
A few weeks ago the grape trade was still very slow, but the situation has changed. Currently the largest amount of grapes comes from Italy and Greece, Wisser’s grapes too. “We get our Greek grapes from Corinth and the Italian grapes come from Sicily,” explains the trader. “We also received grapes from the Italian mainland, however the quality wasn’t convincing. The Sicilian grapes have a good color and are looking good.”
According to Wisser the customers’ demand for grape is currently very high. However there are differences in price. Wisser continues: “The same variety of grapes go for different prices. There are seedless grapes from Greece of which one batch is sold for 2 Euro and another for 4 Euro. The visual aspects of the grapes influence the price. The higher priced grapes are significantly larger than the cheaper ones.”
Despite the increased demand for seedless grapes Wisser still supplies seeded grapes. “We get the seeded variety Italia from Italy. As traders we prefer this variety and customers like this grape too.”
The wholesaler not only provides Frankfurt and its surrounding areas but also other cities with its fresh produce. The customers are retailers, various wholesalers, caterers and farmer’s markets in cities such as Mannheim, Mainz, Wiesbaden and Cologne.
