“We started with 300 boxes per day,” says the trader, “Now we sell about 1,100 per day.” A box contains 10 punnets of strawberries of 250 grams. The imported fruit takes one day per airplane. “In the beginning the demand was high and we sold steadily. Now the sales numbers are quite disappointing, and we are speculating at what caused it.”
A reason for the decrease of the sales numbers could be the mild weather states the importer. “And keeping the other products in mind, especially the winter produce, we hope for a bit of winter weather.”
Egypt is the only supplier of strawberries for the German market since week 48. Now the supply is supplemented with Spanish strawberries. "The first Spanish strawberries now reach the market," explains the expert, “However the Egyptian strawberries have one advantage, the price. The high prices of the Spanish strawberries discourage the customers.” Egyptian strawberries are expected to be available until the beginning of February, reports the dealer.