It has been a very difficult sales year for Balkan plums so far. "Due to the abundant German harvest, there is a particularly large amount of product available and the demand for imported goods is low as a result of this. Sales have been lacking as a result, and German produce has also been available at quite low prices. Additionally, the weather in the Balkan region, i.e. frost damage, hail and heavy rainfall, have had a negative impact on availability and quality. At the same time, growers understandably do not want to give their goods away. All in all, we importers therefore had to contend with high purchase prices and relatively low sales prices," says Jan Gütinger, a plum importer based in Rietheim-Weilheim.
"Fortunately, I then recognized the signals on the market in time. When plum prices started to slide at the start of the harvest in Germany and sales stagnated, I decided to stop harvesting the Lepotica (Cacaks Schöne) variety in Bosnia," says Gütinger. The Lepotica harvest in Bosnia ended at the end of July, about two weeks earlier than usual. The last Stanley plums of Bosnian origin have already been marketed as well.
Fresh Balkan plums:Since 2022 the company Gütinger is IFS Broker certified.
Currently, 
Gütinger mainly offers Serbian plums of the Stanley variety. "This product is of excellent quality and it is expected to be available until week 36. After that, we will seamlessly continue with Polish goods of the President and Presenta varieties." First Moldovan goods have also been offered on the German market already, but these are rather 'uninteresting' due to the abundant yields and correspondingly low prices, he said. A few years ago, Gütinger also offered Turkish plums as a supplement. "In terms of prices, we are doing quite well at the moment."
Right: A flooded cherry plantation in Bosnia.
The fruit importer sells its goods both on the fresh market and to originators. "On the latter sales market, the demand for imported goods was much lower compared to last year and the year before. This is mainly due to the fact that the surplus German goods, which could not be sold through the wholesale market, were increasingly supplied to industrial plants. The higher price level then makes it difficult in turn for imported goods to keep up." Demand has also been subdued so far on the fresh market, on German wholesale markets, the report adds.
Balkans: Stanley and Lepotica predominate
The two main varieties, Stanley and Lepotica, continue to lead the way in exports, Gütinger further observes. "Up to 90 percent of the total export volume in Serbia and Bosnia is accounted for by these two varieties. Nevertheless, there are minor changes at variety level. In Bosnia, the Rana variety has now almost completely disappeared. The Felicia variety has also lost slightly in importance and, in my opinion, will continue to lose market share in the coming years."
Future potential for Balkan apricots
Over the years, the Gütinger family business has specialized in the Balkan plum business and has a reliable supplier network. "This year we also received apricots from Bosnia and plums for the first time and traded them on a trial basis. The fruits are similar to Danube apricots, which are grown extensively in Austria, and their taste is incomparable to Spanish fruits offered in the same period. The apricots have the potential to become a great addition to the assortment and I am also looking to expand the volume in the coming season."
Images: Fruchtgroßhandel Gütinger
For more information:
Jan Gütinger
Fruchtgroßhandel Gütinger
Eschenweg 16
78604 Rietheim-Weilheim
Tel.: +49 (0)7424 / 93 13 480
E-mail. [email protected]
http://fruchtgrosshandel.net/