The season for plums from Bosnia has begun: Jan Gütinger from the fruit growing company of the same name has accepted his first delivery last Thursday in Rietheim-Weilheim. This year, 40 trucks are planned, which is almost 760 tons. "The demand is very good at the moment. Now we will see how the season develops in the next few weeks."
Gütinger purchases the goods from a partner directly in Bosnia. "We work with a family business that has been growing for over 100 years, producing around 1,200 tons a year in the region, with the main crop being 'Cacak Ljepotica'." It is important for all varieties in his assortment that the stone will easily come loose. "The right amount of maturity is crucial here."
The company has been buying plums from Bosnia since 2014, importing them directly to Germany. The goods are then partly resold to other European countries: "I export the goods to partners in the Netherlands and in Switzerland."
Gütinger has been trading in plums for five years now: "That's what my father started with and I've been doing so since the takeover in 2017. We see a continuous growth - last year it was 300 tons, this year it's already more than twice as much." The year 2017 was already a peak year for demand: "Due to the frost here, there were only a few German plums and so I was able to deliver around 600 tons." After the Bosnian season there are the goods from Macedonia; in September they will come from Turkey.
Gütinger has big plans for the future: The current acreage of 12.5 hectares is to be extended by an additional 10 hectares. "My local partner also advises neighboring companies on the management of plantations, crop protection and pruning - in return he can buy the goods there for export."
Some 90% of the plums go to processing, but now he also wants to convince the consumer in the fresh market. He would like to further expand the wholesale business, since there would simply be greater flexibility there than with the large food retail chains. "Sometimes there are just unforeseen circumstances and then the wholesale business is much more understanding."
