Due to the cold weather and high purchase prices, the Spanish stone fruit season is getting off to a relatively late start this year. "At the beginning of week 18, the weather was somewhat better, but over the course of the week, it suddenly turned colder and rainier again," says Volkan Günes, co-managing director of the fruit wholesaler Sun Früchte at the Freiburg wholesale market. However, with the arrival of the first Spanish nectarines, peaches, and apricots, the stone fruit season for this year could be kicked off during the course of week 18. "From a quality perspective, the first, early stone fruits are quite good. However, we are mostly receiving smaller fruits of the 26/28 sorting and are now eagerly awaiting the larger sizes."
In sales, early peaches and nectarines are priced at about 4 EUR/kg: The first apricots were meanwhile offered at very high prices, but their quotations are now trending downwards.
Apricots and yellow nectarines, in particular, usually find good acceptance among wholesale market clients, Günes continues. "We have also been able to sell vineyard peaches or Paraguayos very well in recent years. Even though the product has somewhat established itself by now, there are still minor increases from year to year, at least for us. The first shipments of this year's season are expected to arrive in about three weeks. By then, we also expect the first stone fruits of Italian origin."
The peak season for stone fruits, according to Günes, continues to focus on early summer until the start of the summer holidays. "In previous years, we were able to record good sales as early as the end of April, but this was not the case this year due to the later start of the season. In terms of quantity, Spain continues to dominate the scene. Italian goods, although unbeatable in taste, have the disadvantage of being significantly more expensive to transport and not always being durable. Furthermore, we will soon also offer nectarines, peaches, and sugar apricots from Turkey as well as occasionally goods from Greece."
Nice influx from Eastern France
The Freiburg wholesale market is comparatively seen as a smaller, regionally operating trading hub. Günes: "Due to its proximity to France, the wholesale market also has a high significance in the Eastern French region. Even though there is a local wholesale market in Strasbourg, for example, specialized retailers in particular come to us to buy fresh fruit and vegetables on site. Selling goods to Switzerland would be possible in terms of distance, but is quite complicated due to customs clearance."
For more information:
Volkan Yusuf Günes
Sun Früchte Obst u. Gemüse Großhandel
Großmarkt Freiburg im Breisgau
Tel.: +49 (0) 761 1374987
Email: [email protected]
www.sunfruechte.de