Apples are still being picked, but the pear harvest is in. The season started with quite good pear prices, but they have dropped strongly over the last three weeks. This was said by Kris Wouters of Wouters Fruithandel. He believes the sector has to watch out for exaggerated optimism. "We have to realise that there is a large harvest. At the moment many growers don't have enough fridge space and there are also too few palloxes."
Partially left unpicked last year
He indicates that many growers think nothing can go wrong after last year. "The reality is that we have a large harvest. Last year part of the volume wasn't picked for various reason, including the boycott. This year everything was picked. We are also still missing our largest buyer." There are still a lot of apples on the tree at the moment. "The apple is colouring well this season, so less is going to the industry. The total apple harvest may be smaller, but we certainly still have as much as last year in the fridges."
Kris continues his tale of the situation in the pear market: "At the start of the season there was a large price difference between the large and the small sizes. Now that difference is barely noticeable. The 65 plussers are almost as much as the 60's. This is because the supply of larger pears has increased since the start of the season. It is mainly the larger pears that have decreased in price."
For more information:
Kris Wouters
Wouters Fruithandel
Kasteellaan 21
3454 Rummen - Belgium
Tel: +32 11586190
Fax: +32 11581041
www.woutersfruit.be
For more information:
Kris Wouters
Wouters Fruithandel
Kasteellaan 21
3454 Rummen - Belgium
Tel: +32 11586190
Fax: +32 11581041
www.woutersfruit.be