Buyers of Polish apples are proceeding with caution due to the higher prices, says Aniruddh Ramesh, director of Polish apple exporter LVMG Grupa: "Since the start of the season, exports have been going on a very gradual pace. Due to the higher prices in Poland, overall, the export markets have been buying apples slowly and with caution. Customers also have options to buy from various other apple producing countries in Europe, as Poland is not their only option."
According to Ramesh, prices have increased as the harvest is lower. This also had to do with certain growers not being prepared for the earlier need to start picking the apples. "As stated, the prices of fruit are higher this season in Poland, due to the lower harvest. This decrease in production was caused by frost, hail and other factors. This has deterred many buyers this season. Finding quality fruit correlating with the expected price from growers is not easy. Picking was earlier than usual this season and many growers weren't prepared for it. We noticed that many growers picked their fruit later, which means more ripened fruits were picked. This will have a negative effect on the apples when looking at long storage or shipping to far destination markets. So, to find very good quality fruits suitable for this will really be a challenge this season, as the rates are also higher."
Ramesh emphasizes that logistics aren't really an issue, but the abundant availability of domestic apples in India has lowered demand: "Despite the ongoing issue with the Red Sea, the logistical situation seems pleasant and not that much of a problem for us, so far. We're able to find containers and shipping options to the destinations we choose. Regarding the Indian market, the central and northern parts of India have still not started importing apples, due to the easy access of domestically available fruit. This has resulted in only the south Indian market importing some quantity of apples at this point in time."
"Prices were very high at the beginning of the season, but gradually it got to a stable point and we see this trend to continue, as the demand isn't very strong at the moment, so prices won't be pushed even higher. We expect the purchasing to get better as we approach festive months in Asia and South America, so we certainly look forward to a busy period soon," Ramesh concludes.
For more information:
Aniruddh Ramesh
LVMG Grupa Sp.z o.o.
Email: [email protected]
http://www.lvmg.pl