The top fruit season isn't going without problems as far as quality is concerned. "This goes for the Netherlands, but also the surrounding countries such as Germany and Belgium. One of the causes is the rainfall during harvest. We are dealing with a higher percentage of rot in parties, but also problems with the hardness and peel spots. This isn't good for the growers this affects and puts pressure on the bottom of the market," says Zweet van Aalsburg of Fruitmasters. "Due to monitoring cells well a lot of problems can be prevented."
Thankfully it's not all bad. "There are also some very good parties. There are beautiful parties of Elstar on the market with a good shelf life. And we are ahead with the sales of Elstar compared to last year and the stock is smaller, partially due to the good sales on the domestic market. The German market is also starting to tug at the good parties of Elstar and we are seeing prices rise here. In the other varieties we are around where we should be with sales," says the salesman.
The price of the pears is between 40 and 60 cents. The price of Elstar apples is rising and ranges from the small sizes for 45 cents to the larger for 70 and 1 Euro is already being paid for Prestige at the auction. Very different prices are being realised for Jonagold with a price level of 40 cents for the good sizes (70), but 25-30 cents for the coarse sizes 90-100. "Especially in destinations like Scandinavia and Poland we have to compete with Poland who is offering a lot of apples for little money."
"The sales of the pears is going reasonably well in volumes with stable prices. Germany and the United Kingdom bought a lot of pears and the faraway destinations are all participating. A good example is Vietnam, which immediately ordered a second container after the first arrived. But like the Chinese market these are markets that you have to build up. The product has to prove itself first."
