The new apple crop in Poland is looking very good in terms of quality, says Maryna Starytska, Export Manager of Polish fresh produce exporter Marianna: “We expect our apple season to be very good this year. The weather has been very nice, there’s been sufficient rain during cultivation. There was some slight hail in some of the Polish regions, but overall the crops haven’t been affected negatively by weather conditions. Our producers have told us that the Gala and Golden varieties will be of very nice quality this season.”
Egypt has been an important market for many Polish apple exporters, but additional rules for customs are making life more difficult for the exporters, Starytska explains. “Normally Egypt would be our main focus in terms of our target markets. We also ship our apples to various Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait. Besides the Middle-East, we also export apples to Libya and some Asian countries such as Singapore, Bangladesh and India. The market in Egypt is quite unstable at the moment, not only due to the bank’s currency issues, but new rules have been implemented two months ago, with additional customs policies that are frustrating to deal with. We’ll have to wait and see if this situation improves, as it can change on short notice.”
Starytska states that the most popular Polish varieties see strong demand because they are able to be transported a long way compared to the other Polish apple varieties: “When it comes to the exported, we’ve seen that Gala varieties are most in demand, with Golden and Red Chief varieties coming in as a close second. Jonaprince and Idared are also performing well year after year. Their availability is a big plus, and these varieties also do very well when a long transit time is required to reach the destination. Varieties such as Champion, Ligol and Alwa usually perform better in the local Polish market.”
Thanks to the good quality, Starytska believes they’ll be able to make a strong first impression to their new clients this season. “Overall we believe our upcoming apple season will be a success. The expected harvest is looking really good and we’ll be able to focus on the most stable markets. We’ll be happy to reach more customers in our alternative markets and we think with the quality of this year’s harvest in mind, we’ll be able to make a good first impression to importers that try out our apples this season,” she concludes.
