According to a trader who has been active in the fruit and vegetable trade for years, the market for almost all products is unimaginably bad. "In all my years I have never experienced something like this in the sector. A lot of fruit varieties are doing dramatically bad and little is being given for most vegetables."
"An example is the melons. There is too much on the market right now. Brazil lied about the drought and there being less volumes. We are drowning in melons at the moment. The prices are catastrophic, everyone is losing. There is also an oversupply of vegetables. The Netherlands still has a huge amount of tomatoes and there is also a lot of product coming from Spain and Morocco." There is also little being made from citrus. "Satsumas are 6 Euro per box, Clementines 7.5 Euro. Besides the bad prices there is no through flow, so the volumes are stacking up. Dramatic!"
Russia
A lot of companies are still supplying to Russia through detours, despite the boycott. "It isn't getting easier. A lot of companies are terrified of Russia. They want to give good prices, but the question is whether you will get the money through. But Russia will have to become less critical, as they are also having problems with Turkey. It's unsure whether there is an official boycott, but there are apparently Turkish trucks on the Russian border who aren't allowed in. Some European companies that had strong illegal trade to Russia had started up a small Turkish company, but now they're in trouble. Others have ended trade to Russia. "You can often earn well from what comes through illegally, but you might well be stopped next time. This is why more and more people are saying goodbye to Russia, and I still believe this is a sensible solution."
