Jan doesn't expect extremely high volumes from India this season. Freshtrop has managed to grow once again this year, partially due to direct programmes, which were made with European retailers and the joint market approach with Direct Source and the deployment of the long term marketing strategy. The overlap with other seasons is minimal. "South Africa is more or less over. There are Chilean grapes available, but they are generally of disappointing quality and definitely of insufficient quality to supply the EU with grapes. The mix-grapes do overlap slightly with the latest arrivals from South Africa."
When asked how important the European market will remain for the Indian group producers, Jan replies: "Just like it is for other production countries (e.g. Chile, South Africa and Peru) the European market is becoming less important for India. At the moment Freshtrop supplies various Russian destinations, Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, the Gulf states, the EU and the UK. The options are growing and dependency on the EU is declining quickly. This is good, and better for everyone. The Indian domestic market is growing quickly too, and there is local interest in the same quality of fruit as is being sent away for export. If 10% of 1.2 billion Indians is interested, then that's pretty good volumes..."
The importer recently visited the Indian grape production area himself. "In Nashik (the North) there is nothing particularly out of the ordinary. In Sangli (south) on the other hand there is an early, short and limited season, due to lack of water. The harvest started early and finished early. Due to the lack of water we even had to turn down some parties due to low quality. Hopefully these turned down Freshtrop grapes wont be bought up and shipped to the EU anyway, under the brand 'Freshtrop grapes' as this could cause quality issues later on in the season, which is bad for the industry in general, but especially for India's reputation.
The importer recently visited the Indian grape production area himself. "In Nashik (the North) there is nothing particularly out of the ordinary. In Sangli (south) on the other hand there is an early, short and limited season, due to lack of water. The harvest started early and finished early. Due to the lack of water we even had to turn down some parties due to low quality. Hopefully these turned down Freshtrop grapes wont be bought up and shipped to the EU anyway, under the brand 'Freshtrop grapes' as this could cause quality issues later on in the season, which is bad for the industry in general, but especially for India's reputation.
"I can only speak for Freshtrop, but the quality at the moment is premium and our independent quality inspectors confirm this. Freshtrop's reputation is excellent and we prove it daily with our quality, but also with our unique traceability and control system. We offer regular customers an online tracking and tracing solution, which runs right up to the shelf," says Jan.
"Lessons from the past have taught me to be careful when speaking of expectations for the rest of the season, but it looks like a good season. The expectation is that packing will be over earlier than in previous years. A big advantage is that there are no stocks in Europe. And with the information I have regarding the planned actions in the whole of Europe, there wont be any time soon," concludes the importer.
For more information:
Jan van den Adel
Direct Source International
Keizersdijk 28
3291 CE Strijen
www.direct-source.nl