In the table grape segment, South Africa, as usual, provided by far the bulk of the volumes, followed by seedless light varieties from Peru and Thompson Seedless from India and Chile. Other seedless red varieties from Peru as well as blue with seed from South Africa complemented the scene locally. At the top of the shopping list, along with Crimson Seedless, were light and also blue seedless varieties. According to the BLE (Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food), interest was rather mixed this week: while Peruvian lots were offered at special prices for days in Frankfurt, they were able to position themselves further in large-berry, light-colored and seedless varieties in Munich if demand was sufficient.
The Indian shipments also found it difficult to find buyers in Berlin, whereas they arrived in the southern German markets only in small quantities due to food retail promotions. For the most part, quotations did not change significantly, as supply was sufficiently in harmony with demand. Accumulated stocks had to be reduced in Hamburg with price discounts. Likewise, small-sized Sugraone from Chile now found its way onto the market there.
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Apples
Domestic items dominated the market, with Elstar and Jonagold leading the way. Braeburn, Boskoop and Royal Gala followed in terms of importance. The wide range of products from domestic harvests still supplied the markets almost in full. Only Munich reported the end of deliveries of Rubinette.
Pears
The range consisted primarily of Italian and South African imports. Inflows from Argentina, Turkey, Belgium, and the Netherlands supplemented this. Deliveries from the Southern Hemisphere had intensified, led by the wide range of varieties from South Africa.
Strawberries
Despite the changeable weather, demand for the second most important fruit in this country grew. However, until the main domestic harvest, we import mainly from Southern Europe. At the wholesale markets, Spanish fruit formed the basis of the range, although not to the same extent as in previous years. Greek and Italian shipments followed in terms of volume.
Lemons
The assortment consisted primarily of Spanish Primofiori and Turkish Lama. Italian fruit completed the range in Frankfurt with the untreated variety with leaf for €2.20 to €2.40 per kilo and in Cologne with the standard quality for €1.70 per kilo. The availabilities of the Turkish lots were slightly limited locally.
Bananas
Supply and demand largely balanced each other out. In some places, demand could not always keep pace with the abundant supply of all brands. As a result, second and third brand quotations fell slightly in Munich and Berlin.
Cauliflower
After weeks of high demands, tariffs remained moderate at €10 to €12 per 6-pack. Italian products apparently shared business with French. Spanish and only locally available Belgian lots supplemented. In Frankfurt, there were few batches of 8s graded from domestic protected cultivation on offer.
Lettuces
Iceberg lettuce came exclusively from Spain. Valuations remained mostly stable at the previous week's level. Hamburg reported declining supplies from the Iberian Peninsula. Belgian lettuce outweighed Italian inflows, with domestic newcomers rounding out the range in Cologne, Frankfurt, and Munich.
Cucumbers
Belgian snake cucumbers now predominated. In terms of importance, Dutch and domestic batches followed. Spanish supplies participated only locally in marketing, but continued to lose importance and value. Supplies were sufficient to meet demand, but were upset by fluctuating prices.
Tomatoes
Market supply continued to ease, with isolated exceptions. For panicles, Spain continued to dominate ahead of Turkey and the Netherlands, which slowly gained more importance. Belgian and Italian supplies supplemented. Cherry tomatoes were offloaded from Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands, the latter gaining in value.
Sweet peppers
Feeds from Spain continued to dominate market activity. Pods from Turkey complemented in green and selectively as red pointed varieties. The presence of Dutch and Belgian lots continued to expand, but could not keep up with the Spanish offerings in terms of both money and volume.
Asparagus
The squares were already well supplied with domestic white and selectively purple spears from mostly heated cultivation. Greece, Italy, and the Netherlands rounded out the trade with white and purple offerings. Demand was not sufficient in continuity, in that traders were forced to modify white and purple asparagus demands downward on a day-by-day basis.
Source:BLE