Apples
The week was characterized by a slow business. According to the BLE, domestic offerings continued to dominate, namely Elstar, Jonagold, and Braeburn. From Italy, Pink Lady and Golden Delicious were primarily available, while France mainly provided the club varieties Jazz and Pink Lady. The Italian and French products were mostly offered in laid form; their turnover was sometimes slow due to high ratings. The Netherlands and Belgium only participated with small shipments. Shipments from Poland and Serbia arrived only sporadically. The marketing was very calm, and traders rarely had reason to modify their previous demands. In Munich, Jazz and Kanzi from France and Italy became more expensive due to a weakening supply. The overseas season began with the first New Zealand Smitten available in Frankfurt in 13 kg boxes from Thursday. An expansion of quantities is expected as early as week 16.
Pears
South African imports clearly dominated the scene: Abate Fetel, Packham's Triumph, Cheeky/Cape Rose, and Rosemarie formed the basis of the assortment, while Forelle and Williams Christ played a more complementary role. From Argentina came mainly Williams Christ, Abate Fetel, and Red Bartlett. These, like Chilean Abate Fetel, had noticeably gained in relevance. From Chile, there were also Ercolini available from Thursday in sizes from 55 mm at three euros per kilogram in Frankfurt, as well as Vereinsdechantsbirnen, which appeared in small quantities in Munich. The Netherlands and Germany contributed with Xenia and Conference to the business, from Belgium came exclusively Conference. Santa Maria and Deveci from Turkey lost overall importance but could still be sold without difficulty. Generally, the trade proceeded in relatively calm waters. Price changes were the exception: Overseas shipments sometimes became cheaper due to the intensified supply situation. Yet, price increases due to their appealing quality were also not uncommon.
Grapes
Customers were rather hesitant to purchase the South African, Indian, Chilean, and Peruvian batches. This was not due to high prices, but rather to a generally weak demand. Occasionally, the organoleptic properties of the goods had to be criticized, which is why a rather wide price range was established in places. But even when the quality of the fruits could convince, it was not always possible to avoid surpluses. Prices mostly trended downwards.
Strawberries
Deliveries from Greece, Spain, and the Netherlands predominated and had, like the subsequent Italian shipments, noticeably gained in importance. The presence of Belgian offerings also visibly increased. Domestic fruits were also increasingly unloaded, but their quality sometimes left something to be desired. Overall, availability had massively expanded. The demand could not always keep up, although it had indeed intensified. Therefore, traders could not always prevent discounts. With the sunny weekend weather in mind, customers picked up a bit more from Thursday, but this did not always affect the prices. Regarding these, no clear line was evident.
Lemons
Spanish shipments dominated the scene, accompanied by a few Turkish and Greek items. The availability was sufficiently in harmony with the storage possibilities. Therefore, traders rarely had reason to correct their previous calls. In Frankfurt, Spanish net goods were available at a special price of 0.49 EUR per 500 grams towards the weekend.
Bananas
After the end of the Easter holidays, the demand had strengthened in some places. Traders were able to slightly increase their prices in various cases. Mostly, however, these remained at their previous levels. In Frankfurt, the overripe premium brand became a little cheaper; fresh green goods, on the other hand, became more expensive on Thursday.
Cauliflower
Belgian and domestic deliveries noticeably intensified, with the first Dutch offerings joining the assortment. This was led by Italian shipments, followed by French ones. The Spanish season is coming to an end, which could be easily seen in the weakened inflows and declining quality. The availability generally sufficed to meet the demand. Yet, prices were often subject to changes: For example, increased initial demands for the French products were passed on to the customers. In Cologne, the Belgian and Italian inflows were too extensive, which initiated price reductions. In Munich, the Italian products suffered from declining quality, and even granted discounts could not prevent stocks.
Lettuce
In the case of butterhead lettuce, the presence of Belgian and domestic products noticeably expanded. The domestic greenhouse goods were mostly popular with customers and could, although more expensive than the competition, often be placed quickly. This sector was rounded off by Italian batches, which, however, revealed defects in quality in some places. Iceberg lettuces came almost exclusively from Spain. Only in Berlin could one also access Turkish goods, which, however, were of a diverging quality; accordingly, pricing was difficult. Prices remained constant in places, but also dropped due to too weak demand in others. With the colorful salads, domestic batches predominated, followed by Italian, French, and Belgian in terms of importance. Due to an increased availability, traders seldom managed to avoid discounts, although the demand could be described as quite friendly.
Cucumbers
Dutch, Belgian, and domestic offerings formed the basis of the assortment; their presence had uniformly intensified. In Munich, a few Spanish shipments arrived towards the end of the season, but they did not go beyond a complementary character. Overall, business proceeded relatively quietly. Due to increased initial demands, traders in Frankfurt tried to place the domestic products with price increases, but this did not always succeed. In Hamburg, extensive advertising campaigns by the retail sector with very low prices led to a weakening of demand at the location. Only towards the weekend did prices in the Hanseatic city tend upwards again. Generally, the demand could be met without difficulty. This was also the case with mini cucumbers: These came mainly from the Netherlands and Germany. Occasionally, there were also Spanish, Belgian, and Turkish shipments.
Tomatoes
TOVs mainly came from the Netherlands, Spain, and Belgium. Round tomatoes were primarily from Spain and Morocco, beef tomatoes from Belgium and Morocco. Regarding cherry tomatoes, here, Dutch and Italian fruits were at the forefront. All in all, Moroccan and Turkish imports were limited, playing only a subordinate role towards the end of the campaign. German cherry tomatoes and TOVs entered, but in minor quantities. The demand could usually be satisfied without difficulty. Since the availability had expanded - occasionally being too abundant - prices trended downwards. Constant or even slightly increased prices were, however, also recorded.
Bell peppers
The Spanish season was slowly coming to its final stretch: In particular, yellow goods became scarce, which led to rising prices. But the prices for red and green offerings often also increased. The Dutch and Belgian supplies intensified, however, this increase in quantity was not always sufficient to meet the demand. Thus, the prices for products from the Benelux countries often rose as well. An exception was Hamburg, where the Dutch and Belgian shipments were too extensive, resulting in price reductions. Turkish imports were somewhat more available after the end of Ramadan and could be placed without difficulty, sometimes even with price increases. German offerings were only available in small quantities but could generally be sold sufficiently.
Asparagus
The presence of domestic batches expanded very massively: More and more open-field goods arrived. Especially popular were thicker spears, smaller ones with a 12/14 mm sorting were rather left by the customers. The availability often exceeded the storage possibilities. Traders were therefore forced to grant discounts, sometimes quite significant ones. Both white and violet and green spears were affected by these price reductions. In Frankfurt, a mix of asparagus of violet and green offerings was offered: 3.50 EUR per 400 grams was the asking price. With the significant expansion of domestic quantities, foreign batches fell behind: They hardly attracted any attention anymore. Stocks could usually only be avoided through reduced prices.
Source: BLE