The Polish apple season started early and with higher prices than last year, says Mohamed Marawan, owner of Polish apple exporter Sarafruit: "The Polish apple season started with a very good demand, as our clients were waiting for the new production season. This was combined with record-high prices and an earlier start to the season than usual."
Overall, Marawan expects less apples to be available than in previous years, as the weather did have an impact on production in certain regions. "The total apple production is definitely lower than it has been in previous years. The spring frosts as well as the dry weather effects have contributed to losses reaching up to even 50 per cent in some of the areas in Poland. Varieties such as Jonagored have been particularly absent in the exported apples. This is due to the sizes of these varieties being very large, combined with rather low coloration. Meanwhile we see a drop in quality for the Gala apples, as there's no firmness in the apple and micro cracks can be seen."
According to Marawan, the Egyptian market will soon see apples from various origins with competitive prices, meaning heavy competition for the Polish from Poland: "The demand for Polish apples has slowed down over the last two weeks, as apples from Lebanon, Syria, Greece and Italy have been going to the Egyptian market, offering very competitive prices. This means that the Polish apple will face more competition this season than they have before. And the prices for Polish apples are already higher as it is, we're hoping for the prices to stabilize a bit to let everyone know their positions in the current market."
As there is less production, the apples on the trees have had the space to grow larger than they normally would. "The sizes of the apples are larger than last year, because of the low amount of apples that appeared on the trees, giving them more room to grow to larger proportions. This affects the season, as it has resulted in varieties like Jonagored disappearing completely from the exports this season. Overall, we're currently seeing record prices, but now combined with low demand," Marawan concludes.
For more information:
Mohamed Marawan
Sarafruit
Tel: +48 537 935 155
Email: [email protected]
www.sarafruit.eu