Apples and pears might be similar to some, but both markets show a totally different picture at the moment. "Just before the Berlin fair, the market for Conference pears was really hot," says Emanuel Sluis of trading platform Service2Fruit. "Now, the market has stabilised somewhat."
"The market for the Beurre Alexander Lucassen pears unfortunately picked up late, but has had a good end. Sales of Doyenne du Comice pears just went well and I am also positive for the continuation of the Conference pear season. We are pretty far along with sales already," Manus observes.
"The price of Conference pears on a daily basis is between 70 and 75 cents and this can go up to 80 cents if they are really coarse and exportable. However, Conference's base colour does continue to require attention. That is still an issue this year because of the drought."
Whilst the pear market is doing well this year, the apple market on the other hand is developing poorly. "Apple sales remain mainly domestic. I still don't think there are too many Elstar apples, but quality issues continue to hang over the market."
"As a result, there is a lot of need to sell. Prices for the really good Elstar are around half a euro. That is still below the level at which they were bought on the wood, but costs have been added to that. At the same time, I see it looking a lot sunnier for the longer term - when we get past March - but then you have to have really good apples."
For more information:
Emanuel Sluis 
Service2Fruit
De Ooyen 15A
4191PB Geldermalsen
+31 885 321 300
[email protected]
www.service2fruit.com