In week 17, the first early cherries from Spain were available at the Vienna Wholesale Market. "The current demand is still modest, which is also due to the cold, rainy weather. The kilo prices are also quite high at the moment, ranging from 15–16 euros. However, as quantities increase, we expect prices to gradually decrease over the next two to three weeks. Spring-like weather with temperatures around 20 degrees is forecasted from next weekend onwards. So, we hope business will pick up a bit from May," says Ufuk Sahin, fruit importer and managing director of UfSa Fresh based in Vienna.
Spanish stone fruits: cherries, apricots, nectarines, and peaches.
So far, Sahin does not have concrete information regarding the harvest volume and fruit quality of Spanish stone fruits. "The first arrivals of peaches, nectarines, and apricots have all been satisfactory, and there have been no complaints so far," says Sahin, who cooperates with solid partners in Spain. Moreover, according to Sahin, the early stone fruits of Spanish origin are meeting a balanced market. "At least here in Vienna, there's no overseas produce to be found. So, besides Spain, mainly Italian goods are traded, and Turkey is slowly starting with the first, smaller quantities of the season."
Early Spanish watermelons. In late summer or August, Sahin also acts as an exporter by loading Turkish watermelons to Spain for about two to three weeks to complement the local offering.
Start of the Spanish watermelon season
Parallel to the stone fruit campaign, the supply of Spanish watermelons is slowly picking up. Here too, the demand has been rather subdued due to the weather, Sahin summarizes. "We have been offering Spanish watermelons from our partner Delifresh for almost two weeks now, focusing on the smaller, seedless varieties. Here too, we expect an increase in demand soon and a corresponding reduction in prices."
For more information:
Ufuk Sahin
UFSA Fresh Import-Export
Tel: +43 660 1905881
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.delifresh.es