Italian cauliflowers dominated the market, along with French and Belgian cauliflowers. Their presence had increased across the board. The importance of additional Dutch and Spanish cauliflower also increased. By contrast, the relevance of domestic products had apparently decreased towards the end of the season. Their quality was not entirely convincing, unlike that of the competing products. According to the BLE, there was a wide range of products available, but not too much of a choice. Demand was not low, but could usually be satisfied without difficulty. Prices developed unevenly: in Berlin, they trended downward for the entire range. In Frankfurt and Cologne, on the other hand, prices rose, especially for the Belgian and sometimes also for the French batches. Hamburg and Munich reported the usual price fluctuations.
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Apples
German varieties continued to form the basis of the extensive range. As in the weeks before, Elstar, Tenroy, Boskoop and Jonagold dominated the market. Red-fleshed fruits were in demand among customers: Red Delicious from Italy, for example, were popular at Christmas markets.
Pears
Mainly batches from Italy, Türkiye, and the Netherlands were involved in marketing. Domestic offers were of a supplementary nature, as were Belgian and Spanish offers. Business was relatively calm, as other types of goods tend to be the focus at this time of year.
Table grapes
Imports from Peru increased noticeably and had pushed Italian lots from the top spot overall. The presence of Brazilian deliveries also intensified. Sultanas were the main variety to come from Türkiye. Overall, prices tended to rise rather than fall.
Oranges
Spanish Navelina dominated the scene and were available in many different sizes. Supplies from Italy and Greece supplemented the European range. In addition, Newhall from Portugal turned up in Frankfurt, but only at the beginning of the week. South Africa was still participating with small quantities.
Small citrus fruits
Spanish deliveries dominated the clementine market, mainly of the varieties Clemenules with or without leaves and Oronules. Italian varieties came in second in terms of quantity. Deliveries from Morocco, Greece, and Portugal rounded off the supply.
Lemons
Spanish Primofiori dominated, Turkish Mayer and Enterdonato lemons came in second. In some places, the Spanish lots were unrivalled on some days. South African offers continued to be of convincing quality.
Bananas
Supply and demand were well-balanced. Business was very quiet across the board. As a result, distributors had little reason to adjust their previous prices. Only Munich saw a slight increase in prices for first choice.
Lettuce
Iceberg lettuce was available primarily from Spain and to a lesser extent from a few Dutch suppliers. Availability of domestic batches of headed lettuces was noticeably limited. This sector was led by batches from Belgium, followed by Italy and France.
Cucumbers
In the case of cucumbers, Spanish lots were almost unrivalled in some places. Deliveries from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Greece were always only sporadic and on a small scale. The quotations often showed a downward trend.
Tomatoes
Vine tomatoes were mainly offered from Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands, round tomatoes from Morocco, Belgium, and Spain. Cherry tomatoes came primarily from Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands. As is usual for the season, demand was rather limited and could be easily satisfied.
Sweet peppers
Spain had the market firmly in its grip. Türkiye and the Netherlands were involved in the business with considerably smaller quantities. In Frankfurt, the Dutch and Belgian offers arrived increasingly unsorted and unevenly coloured: the greenhouses were obviously to be cleared quickly, which led to falling prices.
Source: BLE