Even in the week after St. Nicholas' Day, demand for citrus fruits was quite friendly. The unpleasant weather, of course, contributed to this, and the improved quality compared to the previous week had also intensified interest. According to the German BLE, availability was sufficient to meet demand. Spanish offers, mostly Clemenules and Oronules, dominated the clementine market. In some cases, the Greek deliveries had articles with too many seeds, which reduced sales. Italian products were mostly sold with leaves and were therefore significantly pricier than the competition. Moroccan imports gained in importance and were the cheapest in the clementine range, but there were occasional problems with their condition.
In the case of mandarins, overseas batches had almost completely disappeared, with only a few Peruvian offers still available. On the other hand, deliveries from Italy increased slightly: Tacle were difficult to peel in Frankfurt, but were convincing in terms of flavour. In Berlin, too, a few very tasty Tacle (a so-called blood clementine, i.e. a cross between a Tarocco orange and a clementine) were offered. Satsumas were mainly supplied from Turkey, but their organoleptic properties generally left nothing to be desired.
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Apples
Elstar, Boskoop, Jonagold and Braeburn from Germany formed the basis of the supply. Tenroy and Wellant also still played an important role. From Italy, Red Delicious and Golden Delicious in particular were supplied, with Granny Smith and Royal Gala as supplements. Occasionally, the distributors lowered their previous demands a little, as they wanted to speed up the turnover.
Pears
Trade was without any major highlights. As before, Italian and Turkish deliveries dominated the market. Supplies from the Netherlands and Belgium supplemented the market. The main varieties grown in Germany were Xenia, Conference, and Alexander Lucas. Price changes compared to the previous week were rare.
Table grapes
Imports from Peru apparently dominated. In addition, Brazil, Turkey, and Namibia were primarily involved in the business. Batches from South Africa played only a minor role. Overall, business was fairly quiet.
Oranges
In the blond-orange segment, Spanish Navelina dominated the scene. Salustiana of the same origin completed the range. Navel oranges were mainly from Italy. The first Italian Moro blood oranges appeared, but they were not fully convinced in terms of quality.
Lemons
Spanish Primofiori dominated and were sometimes unrivaled in the market. Enterdonato and Mayer lemons came from Turkey. Imports from South Africa, Greece, and Italy were of a supplementary nature.
Bananas
The supply was sufficiently adapted to the accommodation options. Demand had intensified in some places due to the weather. The traders rarely had reason to modify their previous demands.
Cauliflowers
French batches dominated the market. In terms of quantity, Italian batches followed. In some cases, the quality was not always convincing; for example, in Munich, the Italian offers were criticized for having undersized cauliflowers.
Lettuces
Spanish products dominated the iceberg lettuce market. In Berlin, the availability was so extensive that traders had to lower their prices to avoid having to store the goods. In Munich, too, prices fell slightly, which in turn increased the pressure to find subsequent buyers. Colorful lettuces came primarily from France and Italy.
Cucumbers
The marketing of cucumbers was characterized by Spanish deliveries. In addition, there were also Greek, Belgian, and Dutch consignments. In terms of quality, the Spanish offers were not consistently convincing, so special prices sometimes had to be announced to get the goods off the market.
Tomatoes
Round tomatoes were dominated by Moroccan fruit, which, however, showed weaknesses in terms of its condition and therefore often had to be sold discount. By contrast, the prices of Spanish and Belgian competitors remained mostly constant. In the case of vine tomatoes, batches from Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands prevailed.
Sweet peppers
The range consisted only of offers from Spain, Turkey, and Morocco. In Hamburg and Berlin, Spanish batches became more expensive due to positive demand and limited supply. In Munich, interest remained limited due to high valuations.
Source: BLE