The Egyptian strawberry season began last week at LuBa Fresh with limited volumes and exceptionally high prices. "Supply is gradually increasing, but the challenges this year are significant. Yields are slightly lower, production costs have risen dramatically, and air freight rates are also skyrocketing," says Lucien de Wit.
As a result, prices for Egyptian strawberries are up to 70% higher than last year. "However, the cost price has also doubled," Lucien emphasizes. "Additionally, a large quantity of strawberries is being exported from Egypt—either directly or via trucks from Ostend—to the UK. This leaves us with less product available for the Dutch market."
LuBa Fresh receives daily shipments of Egyptian strawberries at airports in Frankfurt, Cologne, Maastricht, and Amsterdam. "Some Dutch importers are even flying strawberries to Paris, but we haven't done that ourselves yet," Lucien notes. "Demand is strong, with much of the incoming supply already pre-sold, meaning we have to disappoint customers daily."
Traditionally, Egyptian strawberries are widely supplied to German Weihnachtsmärkte (Christmas markets), where they are dipped in chocolate. "The firmer varieties like Fortuna, Festival, and Sensation are particularly suited for this purpose. Dutch strawberries are too soft. In previous years, German buyers preferred larger strawberries for this market, but with the high prices this year, some customers are specifically requesting smaller strawberries so they can thread three or four onto a stick. In all my years in the business, I've never seen that happen before," Lucien concludes.
For more information:
Luciën de Wit
LuBa Fresh
Tel: +31 77-777 7715
Mob: +31 6-41273443
[email protected]
www.LuBaFresh.com