For twelve years Fayad Fruits & Vegetables has been exporting fruits and vegetables to the Caribbean. At first from Miami, but for the last four years Ziad Fayad has been exporting fruits and vegetables from Barendrecht to the islands of Curaçao and Saint Martin. The reason for moving? “My wife wanted to return to the Netherlands. Happy wife, happy man!”
The location of the trade centre in the Netherlands pleases Fayad. “The logistical costs from Barendrecht to the Caribbean are no different than from Miami to the Caribbean. And Dutch wholesalers and importers offer a good range of fresh produce, which is also an interesting price technically. I purchase from the trade centre and the Amsterdam Food Center, we do not personally keep stock. Everything we buy, leaves there on the same day.”
Fayad’s main clientele consists of cruise ships, the catering industry and supermarkets on the Caribbean Islands. “We have weekly air freight of mushrooms, strawberries, herbs and delicatessen, among other things. Furthermore, we ship a container of products such as apples, oranges, potatoes, cabbage and carrots to our storage on Curaçao and Saint Martin every ten to twelve days,” says Fayad.
Incidentally, fruit and vegetables are not the only order of the day. “About 80 per cent of our volume is fruit and vegetables, but we actually meet every demand of the catering industry, for example, dairy. Although this week we are also shipping car parts in our container. I want to introduce an app soon, offering our customers ten to twenty promotional products per week.”
“I also export a bit to destinations such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan, although that is less profitable for me, because the big boys of the Dutch fresh produce trade are also active in those regions. They will not supply just a kilogram of goat’s cheese or just 20 grammes of saffron. I do, and with that service I can distinguish myself in the Caribbean.”
For more information:
Fayad Fruits & Vegetables
Ebweg 3b Barendrecht
The Netherlands
Mob: (+31) 6-46526991