Sales of apples have been rather slow in the past few weeks, but demand is increasing at this point in the season, says Jan Nowakoski, manager of Polish apple distributor Genesis Fresh: "The demand for apples is picking up again after slow sales in the last couple of weeks. The beginning of the season was strong, though. Royal Gala has been the most popular variety from the start of the season. In general, we've seen strong demand from European markets as well as from clients that are overseas. The Golden apples were selling very slowly, due to abundant volumes being available in Europe this year. However, now the demand and trade is picking up again. Jonagored and Red Prince are gaining popularity during this part of the season. There is limited interest in the Idared variety so far. After New Year, we can expect better sales for this specific variety."
The fact that prices are so high and availability is limited means that selling the apples to the processing industry is a very viable option for Polish apple growers, Nowakowski explains. "Apples for the processing industry are fetching very high prices this season. In this sense, the season is very positive for apple growers. From the beginning of the season, the prices were increasing by two-to-three cents per kilogram on a weekly basis. Prices stopped increasing in week 45, stabilized for a week and then started to drop right up until week 47. From week 48, we observe the local factories demand volumes, which results in the prices starting to increase once again. We have an unstable situation with volume availability every week, due to the high dynamic of the prices. The growers stored the apples when the prices dropped, and will open the chambers with apples when the prices are picking up again."
Overall, Nowakowski expects a very chaotic season, as he feels that prices are going to start increasing once again: "There's a lot to say in regards to the quality of this season's apples. We experienced very hot temperatures during the harvest time, and as a result the quality started to deteriorate. It means we have some parts of the harvest that are of good quality and can be exported during the season, while we need to sort the lesser quality apples to supply the factories with. The coming weeks are going to be dynamic too. We'll see an increase of the prices once again, which will cause uncertainty about prices increasing even further and the availability of apples will become limited again. Time will tell, but it looks like it will be a very chaotic season this year."
For more information:
Jan Nowakowski
Genesis Fresh
Tel: +48 223 783 405
Email: [email protected]