Tholen - Fruit & vegetable traders are quite satisfied with the current fruit and vegetable market.
Melons, of which large volumes are once again being shipped from Spain, are an example of this. Prices of around 1.10 Euro per kilo are being paid for watermelons and that's a very decent price. There has been, however, a bit of a clash with produce from Panama and Costa Rica due to delays in the campaign. Up to one Euro is still paid for overseas produce and often less. The biggest concern when it comes to watermelon sales remains the weather.
Mandarin sales are facing some difficulties due to the large supply of Spanish mandarins on the market. Top quality American Minneolas are also not in the best situation, with a price of around 15 Euro for 13 kilos. Spanish medlars (16/17 Euro for the good ones) are achieving fair sales. Apple sales continue to fall slightly, but overseas pears, following in the tracks of Dutch Conference pears, are selling reasonably well.
The current situation is particularly good for peppers. Dutch peppers are reaching top prices of 18-20 Euro for a box of red, between 17.50 and 18 Euro for green, 15-16 Euro for yellow and 17 Euro for orange peppers. Importers are consequently doing everything in their power to import whatever is still available in Spain, because with these prices even air-freight is interesting. For the latest batches of Spanish produce, quite affected by shrinkage, cracks and other irregularities, prices of 12/13 Euro are still paid. This is once again proof that there is nothing more unpredictable than the vegetable trade.