"A lot of top fruit gone"

If the prospects at the start of the Dutch top fruit season were bad due to the large harvest and the Russian boycott, now a lot of apples and pears are finding their way onto the domestic markets and export markets. "We started four weeks earlier, which means there's a lot of kilos left. As far as kilos are concerned we are now equal to last year, so we're on the right track," concludes Zweer van Aalsburg of Fruitmasters.

"At the start of the season there was so much pressure on the market, mainly due to the growers who usually lease out their product. This meant that there were no trays or cooling cells available. Now the situation has stabilised. The pear prices are generally between 40 and 50 cents, which is still quite acceptable. The sales are as wide as ever, as China has been added as a destination," says Zweer.

"It's almost the same with apples. The supermarkets had a lot of offers and we are seeing the effects of it. There are already less Elstars and less Jonagold apples available on the market. Due to the full cells and the bad colouration a lot of the last harvest went to the industry. The intervention and green regulation was added to this. But now there is a real quiet on the market. The price of Elstar is around 40/45 cents and even 50 cents for good sizes. I expect an increase with Elstar. The Jonagold could also go up a bit, but this is more difficult due to the pressure of the cheap Polish apples."

According to Zweer the club variety Kanzi is proving itself once again in this full apple market. "The product sells itself. After two or three weeks you still have a hard tasty apple on your shelf. You can have a good concept, but the apple itself has to do well. This apple goes all round the world and is planted everywhere. The prices is a lot higher than that of regular apples. For our cooperation Kanzi is the second highest variety in kg after Elstar! We also want to put the new pear variety into the market as a Kanzi concept."

"In the month of December popular products are Gieser Wildemand and Boskoop, especially in last two weeks of December. We also offer a wide assortment of greeting apples, with Christmas designs, sledges and Santa himself," says Zweer. "I foresee a reasonably stable market for December."

Harrie Septer is responsible for the sales of greeting apples at FruitsmastersTel: 0031 (0) 345-578816)

For more information:
Zweer van Aalsburg
Fruitmasters
Deilseweg 7
Postbus 222
4190 CE Geldermalsen
Tel: 0031 345 578 808
Mob: 0031 651 429 504
www.fruitmastersholland.nl