After the successful debut year of Turkish Pitahayas last year, the team of Petrik & Sahin OG started the second marketing season this week. The outlook at the beginning of the season is particularly positive, reports co-managing director Baris Sahin when asked. "Compared to last year, we are starting the season about ten days earlier and have decided on a new supplier called Meygold for quality reasons. We also source pepperoni and selected fruit products from this partner."
The first marketing season in 2022 was surprisingly good, Sahin says looking back. "Normally, pitahayas come from either Southeast Asia or Latin America and they are mostly flown in by air. Because of the shorter transport distances, Turkish pitahayas have been able to establish themselves as a great alternative for airfreight goods from afar. We have noticed that even those who have never bought them before, such as Turkish supermarkets or canteen kitchens, are now asking for them. It's also fun for us wholesalers to offer something new and surprising."
Although both the red-red and the red-white pitahaya are produced in Turkey, Petrik & Sahin OG will initially focus exclusively on marketing the red-red pitahaya.
According to Sahin, the prospects for this year's season are also positive. "As far as I know, only Vietnam is currently represented on the market. In addition, there should be a fairly abundant harvest in Turkey this year. However, we expect larger quantities only from the end of July to the beginning of August. Last year, we were able to market the last batches until December," says the fruit wholesaler.
Petrik & Sahin OG has also been offering sweetcorn of Turkish origin for a few weeks now. Similar to pitahayas, this is a smaller-volume but interesting item that is enjoying increasing demand. "The season did start off high priced in the first 14 days, but prices have since come down a bit. All in all, the season has started quite well, although sales are now faltering somewhat due to the increasing presence of Hungarian goods. But this is nothing new, as June is traditionally the strongest sales month."
Turkish sweetcorn
Difficult general conditions
Inflation and price fluctuations continue to shape events at the Vienna wholesale market, Sahin continues. "For certain articles, such as vine tomatoes and peppers, there are sometimes extreme price jumps, which cause us problems every day. Added to this are the high costs, for example in the area of transport and logistics. What plays a role, especially with imports from Turkey, are the complex border controls at the Turkish-Bulgarian border. But we have to accept that we can neither assess nor influence the situation."
Overall, however, the wholesale company has come through the past crisis years well. "So far, we are posting better figures than in the previous year, in which we again recorded a higher turnover than in 2021. A sign that our company is doing quite well - despite the tough general conditions," Sahin explains in conclusion.
Images: Petrik & Sahin OG
Further information:
Baris Sahin
Petrik & Sahin OG
Großmarkt Wien-Inzersdorf
Laxenburgerstraße 365 C6 69-74
+43 1 6150014
[email protected]
www.sahinfruit.at