The cherry harvest in the southern German growing regions of Oberkirch and Freiburg started slightly late this year, while the harvest of the northern German cherries started ten days earlier. "I'm therefore not ruling out the possibility that this year's season will end a little earlier. Last year, we offered the last German cherries on 20 August, although demand usually drops off sharply from 10 August onwards," explains Hinrich Eckhoff, stand salesman at fruit wholesaler Erwin Dehmel, based at the Hamburg wholesale market.
The protected cherries from the Altes Land region are still being produced and marketed to a limited extent. According to Eckhoff, however, this is likely to change in the future. "In a year like this, the trade realises the added value of protected cultivation. This is because the requirements regarding the quality and stability of the goods are tending to increase in all areas, whether food retail or wholesale. Cracked cherries are simply no longer accepted anywhere." However, the latter tends to be more difficult to produce in open-air cultivation, which in turn is due to the extreme weather conditions.
Protected cherries from the Altes Land.
Protected cherries are generally somewhat larger (calibre 28-30-32) compared to their counterparts from open field cultivation (calibre 26-28) and are correspondingly more expensive to sell. Eckhoff: "In terms of price, this year's protected goods are above last year's level, while the open field goods tend to be sold at a lower price due to their consistently weaker quality." The main varieties grown in Germany include Henriette, Kordia and Regina. "We have already received the first cherries of the late variety Regina, but I think they are still too red."
Field-grown cherries from local cultivation. Erwin Dehmel is one of the long-established market companies on Hamburg's wholesale market and celebrated its 75th anniversary last year.
In addition to local sweet cherries, Erwin Dehmel also stocks a wide range of stone fruit from Spain and France, whereby apricots, nectarines and peaches of French origin are generally 30-35 per cent more expensive than their Spanish counterparts. "Due to inflation and increased price awareness, French produce is generally less popular. As a result, French stone fruit is particularly popular in the more upmarket specialised trade." Overall, the supply volumes from both countries of origin are sufficient to cover the generally lower demand, explains Eckhoff.
French stone fruit from the 'Le Canard des Clairettes' brand.
Orangered is losing importance
Eckhoff is observing some interesting trends in the individual stone fruits. "The once popular Orangered apricot variety is becoming less important as it is actually too sensitive for export. The produce doesn't keep that long, which is why it is unsuitable for the food retail trade anyway. We mostly source the variety from France, although this year we also procured a few pallets from Spain. Here too, however, there were problems with the shelf life."
Spanish stone fruit.
In addition to the 'standard range', Eckhoff currently also offers flat nectarines and peaches. "We have noticed that the demand for the latter fruit is steadily increasing, while the flat nectarines have interestingly not caught on as well. This may also be due to the fact that peaches are not only cheaper, but are also available in both AA and AAA sizes," concludes the report.
Images: Erwin Dehmel Fruit Fruchtgroßhandel
For more information:
Hinrich Eckhoff
Erwin Dehmel Fruchtgroßhandel
Hamburg wholesale market
+49 175 288 3618
[email protected]
www.dehmel-frucht.de