The first Orri clementines of this year's season were able to be loaded at the Essen Fresh Center in week 1. The turmoil of war in source country Israel has caused uncertainty among traders at the start of the season. "Compared to previous years, prices are firmer and volumes are smaller. However, no one has yet spoken of shortages," says Frank Wilberg, buyer and seller at Fruchtgroßhandel Buschhüter.
Generally, the entry prices at the beginning of the Israeli Orri campaign are relatively high. Wilberg: "Normally, the price level tends to go down as quantities increase during the season. However, it is expected that this usual price drop will not occur this year." So far, everyone has been satisfied with the quality of the goods received, it seems.
Frank Wilberg from Fruchtgroßhandel Buschhüter in 2023.
The popular Orri clementine is now cultivated not just in Israel but also in Spain. "We do also source Orri from Spain, but this product only has a complementary role. When we market both origins side by side, the Israeli product is strongly preferred. Accordingly, people are willing to pay a bit more for high-quality goods from Israel. Only when the price difference is significant, do we switch to Spanish goods," says Wilberg, who also offers smaller quantities of Israeli grapefruits.
Low demand for nuts
The Buschhüter company looks back on a satisfactory Christmas business overall. Wilberg continues: "There were no major outliers, neither downwards nor upwards. There was only a slight demand for nuts, which is actually rather unusual and we cannot exactly explain. Procuring our range of nuts was not a problem at all, but the marketing of the goods was just quite sluggish."
Overall, the family business looks back on a normal sales year 2023. "The Corona situation has given our business a boost, although this hype has now almost disappeared. But this was to be expected. Otherwise, the year 2023 was marked by our capacity expansion, as we were able to put three new ramps into operation in the fall," Wilberg concludes.
For more information:
Clemens Buschhüter
Buschhüter GmbH & Co. KG
Fresh Center Essen
Phone 0201 / 325396
Fax 0201 / 313243
j.buschhueter@obst-buschhueter.de