The marketing of Spanish stone fruit is currently fairly calm. "The weather is playing a bit of a role," says Erik-Jan Thur of Marni Fruit. "The arrivals of the stone fruit are proceeding quite normally, but the real June feeling is still missing. We have hardly had consecutive days with really good summer weather, and as a result, the sales boost has lagged behind. At the same time, due to the lesser weather here, you hardly notice that elsewhere in Europe, from north to south, it has been remarkably warm at times. For example, last week in Scandinavia, temperatures reached 25-27 degrees in several places. This leads to surprising inquiries, which we can certainly use."
"We are currently receiving mainly fruit from the south of Spain and have not yet fully started in the northern part. The cherry market is doing fairly well, but there are quite a lot of smaller cherries and the larger sizes are harder to come by. The price for the standard sizes is around 6.50/7 euros. For the 28+ sorting, you're looking at between 7.50 and 8 euros, and the 30+ is being sold for 9/10 euros," explains Erik-Jan.
"With the peaches, we have just started from the northern part, in the Zaragoza region. This supply consists mostly of smaller sizes, laid in a single layer. Now, slowly, more larger peaches are coming onto the market. The prices fluctuate considerably on a daily basis, so it's a bit of moving with the market. Prices for the small sizes are around 5-5.50 euros, while the price for the larger sizes goes up to 8-9 euros."
"The nectarines we still get from the south, from Huelva and Murcia. Their prices are roughly equal to the peaches. The price for the packaged peaches is around 6/7 euros and the price for 10x1 kg is between 12 and 15 euros, depending on the size. For the paraguayos, which also come from southern Spain, the prices for the A and double-A sorting are between 8 and 9 euros, and the smaller sizes are sold for 7.50-8 euros. We have also started with the first Spanish plums, with the varieties Red Beauty and African Rose. Those prices are between 11 and 12 euros for 5 kg."
"Quality-wise, it's all nice merchandise that we're receiving. However, cherries in particular remain a sensitive product. With them, everyone always has a quick opinion about the quality," continues the importer, who sees as the main trend in the stone fruit market that especially the smaller packages are becoming increasingly popular. "It's increasingly 10x500 grams that's dominating. The 10x1 kg packaging only becomes interesting when it's high summer everywhere!"
For more information:
Erik-Jan Thur
Marni Fruit
Gebroken Meeldijk 52
2991 VD Barendrecht
+31 (0)180 697 996
[email protected]
www.marnifruit.nl