Rosa International was founded in 2003. The importer has had a sales agency in Germany for some time now, and opened an office in the Netherlands two years ago. Storage and transhipment is handled by Cool Control in Maasdijk. “We are close to the fruit here, and able to offer our clients the best possible service,” says CEO Murilo Calabrich. “In 2015, we imported 320 containers with Brazilian mangoes.”
“At present, our import is still mainly focused on Brazil. Mangoes and limes are our main products, and we work with top brands Pepita and Rio Frutas. We supplement the range with Formosa Papaya, sweet potatoes and avocados,” Murilo says. Most of Rosa International’s clients are found at German wholesale markets, but the importer also has a strong presence in Italy.
Heat reduces mango harvest
The heat in the San Francisco Valley in October and November caused a significant harvest reduction in Brazilian mangoes. Add to that a strong internal, Brazilian market and the struggle Peru has had with a number of quality issues, and you end up with a rather empty mango market at the moment. “The prices are good, currently Brazil is supplying around forty containers a week,” Murilo says.
The market situation for limes is currently affected by the rainfall in Sao Paulo, causing relatively low supplies. “Prices are pretty good at the moment, it’s possible that price levels might go down a bit, but I’m not expecting a dramatic decrease,” Murilo says. “We’re going for year-round supplies, and from now until the end of the year I expect to import one or two containers of limes on a weekly basis.”
For the coming years, the importer expects higher prices for fruit from overseas in the European market. “Because of increasing demand from the United States, China, the Far East, but in the local market South American producers also have a lot more alternatives.”
Murilo looks to the future with optimism. “We’re hoping to retain our position in mangoes in the coming years, to strengthen our market share in limes, just like the Formosa Papaya air freight. I expect we will double our revenue within five years, and we want to spread our sourcing across multiple South American countries in order to guarantee product availability.”
