The Turkish pomegranate campaign is now approaching its peak. "Since the beginning of the season, we have seen an abundant supply situation, which unfortunately has also meant that we have not been able to fully achieve our price expectations. In short, there is too much supply on the market in relation to demand," summarises Ersan Yildizak, direct importer and managing director of disFruta Fruchtimport GmbH, based in Duisburg. Currently, a stable price level is being observed, he continues.
Turkish Hicaz pomegranates
In the first half of the season, Spain and Turkey traditionally share the market, with Turkey mainly growing and exporting the Hicaz variety. "Spain has raised prices again just before the end of the season. Turkey, on the other hand, is waiting a little at the beginning of the second half of the season." According to Yildizak, a lot of goods are still being held back in the Turkish storage centres for late marketing. "The Turkish pomegranate season usually extends into March. This clearly gives them the advantage of less competition. As far as I know, the only other goods offered in significant quantities during this period are from Egypt."
In the food retail sector, the 85+ grade is sought after the most.
In addition to pomegranates, disFruta GmbH also offers Turkish chestnuts. "Turkish chestnuts were quite expensive for a long time, which is why we mainly offered Spanish products. The Spanish campaign started at the beginning of October, a little earlier than usual, and is now ending earlier. At the beginning of the season, the majority were in the 30-40 size range, but recently we have received a few more small ones. Demand has been consistently high since the beginning of the season and is increasing further with the arrival of the first candied chestnuts (Sekerci) from Turkey. We supply our chestnuts to both ethnic supermarkets and Christmas markets. In the latter sales channel, the smaller size (70-90 pcs/kg) is particularly popular," says Yildizak.
Turkish chestnuts
Overseas cherries meet receptive market
The seasonal assortment of disFruta GmbH is rounded off by flight cherries from Chile. "Similar to last year, we received the first shipments through our import partner in calendar week 50. These are the Sweet Aryana variety, a slightly harder, thicker sweet cherry compared to the old Santina variety that we traded in previous years. Meanwhile, prices are at the same level as last year." According to Yildizak, the flight cherries are mainly establishing themselves as a supplementary item, but they are well received by certain customers. "The first pallet was sold in no time. But it should also be noted that we will only be carrying the item for a short time until the end of the year," he concludes.
Chilean flight cherries of the Sweet Aryana variety
Photo credit: disFruta Fruchtimport GmbH
For more information:
Ersan Yildizak
disFruta Fruchtimport GmbH
Paul-Rücker-Str.6 b
47059 Duisburg
Phone: +49 203 9931833
[email protected]
http://www.dis-fruta.de