The last months of the Dutch and Belgian strawberry season are now underway at Special Fruit. "Volumes were slow to start, but overall, it has been a good season. At the moment, however, we are seeing a slight dip as some crops have finished or are producing minimal volumes. Nevertheless, we expect to continue with local strawberries until November due to the late start," says Johan van Alphen of the Flemish trading company.
"In general, we've seen good quality," Johan continues. "Cold nights and plenty of sunlight during the day have allowed the strawberries to grow beautifully. Demand has remained strong across multiple channels, and prices were very high in September. Although prices have now normalized somewhat, they are still strong for this time of year."
Significant shift in varieties
In addition to the local season, Special Fruit is also looking ahead to the Moroccan and later the Spanish strawberry season. "We expect the first arrivals of Moroccan strawberries at the end of November or early December," adds Polina Valkanova from the company. "Meanwhile, our growers in Huelva, Spain, started planting for the upcoming season a few weeks ago. We expect the first volumes from potted plants to hit the market around mid-December. If the weather holds, tunnel production will begin in late December or early January."
The Special Fruit team at the past Fruit Attraction
Despite this, Polina notes a shift in the company's Spanish strawberry acreage. "While the overall acreage remains stable, there has been a significant change in varieties. Traditional varieties are being replaced by new, more flavorful ones. In 2022, Fortuna and Rociera accounted for around 50% of total strawberry plantings in Huelva, but last season, the two combined barely reached 20%. Growers see that the new varieties possess the qualities needed to improve the market and increase consumption. We jumped on this trend several years ago with our Calinda strawberries, which helped launch this shift."
Growing demand
This trend isn't limited to Spain. "Leading growers in Morocco are also following the move toward new varieties in their export offerings. Thanks to strategic partnerships, Special Fruit can offer our customers significant volumes of Moroccan strawberries from the first weeks of January."
First plantings in Huelva
Polina adds that the growth in new varieties is boosting sales of both Spanish and Moroccan strawberries. "Many of our customers have already expressed interest in increasing their orders for Spanish strawberries for the next season. There's a lot of excitement about the rise of these new varieties. European retailers are also noticing that thanks to these developments, consumers are regularly adding Spanish strawberries to their shopping carts."
For more information:
Johan van Alphen
Special Fruit
Europastraat 36
2321 Meer, Belgium
Tel: +32 33 17 06 60
[email protected]
www.specialfruit.be