"Germany: "Prices will rise between September and October"

The market for table grapes is currently dominated by fruits from European cultivation. Importer Georgios Antoniou of Frescha GmbH, "There is demand for grapes on the German market, only now the supply is correspondingly large. There are currently many products from Spain, Italy, Turkey and Greece. Until the end of September, the European market will be supplied with grapes from these main cultivation areas."

The company from Dusseldorf is currently importing its grapes from Greece. "We are currently obtaining our sweet, seedless Thompson Seedless from Greece", the importer explains. "Our table grapes come from two cultivation areas: Korinth and Kavala."

Larger volumes and more intense colouring
Currently, Frescha GmbH's Thompson Seedless mainly come from Korinth. "Our grapes are grown in two different ways. The first being grapes grown in the open field, and secondly the so-called 'tunnel products' under plastic", Antoniou describes. Through growing under plastic, the grapes are protected from negative outside influences, such as strong rains or insects. "Because of the plastic, a larger volume of grapes are produced and the colouring of the fruit is more intense. But one cannot count on tunnel produce until mid-September".

Lowering supply and rising prices
"Looking across the entire year, the demand for table grapes is extremely stable in Germany," the importer explains. "We are however expecting supply to drop further in the coming three to four weeks. Because of this we will have reached a continuously stable price level in Germany until mid-September. By then the products from Spain and Italy will have disappeared from the market and only the products from Greece and Turkey will remain. There will surely still be enough products, but not excessively so any more." According to Antoniou, this will lead to rising prices. "Between September and October, market prices will rise. But exactly how and by how much, one currently cannot say yet. Of course, this also always depends on the quality of the grapes.

Georgios Antoniou
Fresca GmbH
Pflugstr. 2, 40470 Düsseldorf
Tel. +49 211 68 78 51-14
ga@fresca-germany.de
www.fresca-germany.de