The sun is out, and temperatures are soaring. This is the time for summer fruit at Belgian traders and products like strawberries, cherries, and raspberries fly off the shelves. This year is no exception. The local summer product par excellence, strawberries, may have arrived a bit later, but there are plenty of them, and consumers are eagerly snapping them up. So too at Sebrechts Groenten en Fruit in Antwerp. "We've had a truly wonderful season so far, flavor and quality-wise," begins Nathalie Sebrechts.
This family business has been around for 65 years, a milestone it celebrated in style in early June. At the party, friends, family, and business relations were thanked. What is the secret to lasting so long as a wholesaler? "It doesn't feel like work because we enjoy doing it and have nice contact with customers. That also ensures we genuinely know our clients. Each has specific requirements: promos, big, small. If you know who you sell to, you know what you must be able to offer to them. We talk to most of them mainly by phone or email. The fact that they say this goes so well that they'd rather be in their stores than walking around with us to pick out their purchases indicates they trust us."
"It also remains imperative to stay alert. You can have great relationships with your buyers, but if the quality or supply is disappointing, they'll choose to go elsewhere. That's just how it is. Everything's expensive these days, and fruit's weather sensitive, of course. Look at the Spanish stone fruit. It's tough to find enough supply and good quality. You have to ensure that if people pay higher prices, they get that good quality. Stay alert, and you can stay in business, and people will keep coming back. Otherwise, you'll fail. Regardless, fruit always sells well in the summer, despite these higher prices," says Nathalie.
That makes things slightly trickier as summer approaches since sales always peak then. However, according to the co-manager, it is also a very nice period, with plenty of availability. "People love the taste of Belgian soft fruit, especially with the current temperatures. There's a lot of demand for local strawberries, for example, but because there's also a good supply, prices remain favorable. That gives sales an extra boost."
Nathalia cannot complain about supply. "Several strawberry crops are going at present, from Elsanta and Sonsation to Sonata. There are, fortunately, quite a lot of outdoor crops and through-bearers. But the recent sweltering weather means we'll have to wait and see what happens in the coming period. You must pay good attention to quality and bruised fruit. That could lead to less supply," she says.
Demargro’s Guy De Meyer shares that concern about strawberries. "Belgian strawberries have been very popular since they arrived. So there are plenty of promotions. Yet, almost all countries want these fruits and some are already going to Spain. Germany and France are also very active in the market," he says. So, the trader argues, it is vital to monitor quality well. "There are many different varieties, but the quality generally looks excellent at the moment. Still, the nights are getting somewhat warmer, so we must keep a close eye on quality. When daytime temperatures reach 30°C, and it doesn't cool down at night, keeping the strawberries fresh is challenging. We'll have to monitor that closely to continue offering the best quality.”
Nathalie adds that, besides the best seller, strawberries, there is good demand for other products in the summer too. "There's demand for blackberries, blueberries, redcurrants, raspberries, and specialty strawberries like raspberry strawberry, peach, and pineapple strawberries. It's the time of year when people want sweet fruits to counteract the heat. So, in addition to the runners like imported stone fruit and melon, all Belgian summer fruits do very well in the market. We had to wait for the Belgian cherries. These were a little late this year, but they were eagerly awaited because fewer Spanish and French products are available," she explains.
For more information:
Sebrechts Groenten & Fruit
Tel.: +32 32374192
[email protected]
www.sebrechtsfruit.be
Demargro
Tel.: +32 (0)51 74 70 75
[email protected]
www.demargro.be