The Spanish stone fruit season started a fortnight ago at WilkoFruit. Then the Dutch fruit wholesaler got its first greenhouse cherries. "We buy our cherries from all over Spain. That's an advantage. We can supply cherries from very early to very late in the season. It never happens that Spain is entirely rained out. Or that all the plants are hibernating simultaneously. So we never have to disappoint our customers," says Wilko van der Zwaard.
From 5 May, the Spanish cherry season will really take off. Then the importer receives Zalama cherries from the 'Valle de Jerte'. That's Europe's largest cherry exporter. WilkoFruit supplies these fruits in 12x400g, 10x500g, and 1, 2 and 5kgs. And, for re-export, loose in 40x30 or 50x30 packaging. "There's year-round demand for cherries. But demand for the other stone fruits is now starting to pick up too. The weather's still cool, but people are hankering for something new."
Last week the Spanish apricot season also began at Wilkofruit. "We start with the blush varieties, Mikado and Colorado. These have a Brix of 12-13 and are, therefore, of good eating quality. To guarantee good quality, we package the fruit as Gaudias. Currently, market vendors, greengrocers, and some small chains are mostly trading in stone fruit. Prices are still too high for supermarkets now," says Wilko.
"There are 40% fewer apricots throughout Murcia [in Spain]. The regions with the later varieties have fewer apricots too. That's good for the market situation. It's better to have shortages than surpluses. We've also been receiving peaches and nectarines for the past two weeks. We're getting the first Almerian varieties. Those come to market even earlier than Seville and Huelva. Most of this fruit comes from the Albaran - Cieza region nowadays. There, the season is delayed by ten days. Here too, the season truly gets going around 4 or 5 May."
Some say paraguayos have replaced peaches. Wilko, however, has a different opinion. "We still sell 40% nectarines, 40% peaches, and 20% paraguayos. Our Dutch customers love nectarines. But the non-native community, who eat the most fruit, usually prefer peaches. We work with the largest growers in Spain. So we can fill large retailer programs."
"Our growers work closely with the largest breeder. They continually invest in new varieties. They heed our advice because we know which varieties our clients demand. Our growers have a new variety every ten days. We, therefore, always have the right varieties available. So, we can deliver juicy peaches until 10 October," Wilko concludes enthusiastically. Wilko Fruit has peaches in 4 and 7kg, 10x500g, and 10x1kg formats.
Gaudias, fruits for pleasure.
For more information:
Wilko van der Zwaard
Wilkofruit b.v
14 Heilaar-Noordweg
4841 ZZ, Prinsenbeek, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 765 244 460
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.wilkofruit.com