Topfruit cultivators are worried about the consequences of the heat during the harvesting period. “Qualitatively it all seemed very well, after a good spring and a summer that did not have temperatures that were too high. But then we had temperatures of more than 30 degrees Celsius during the harvesting period,” Wilbert van Wijk of Vicus Fruit reflects. “One of the consequences is that, especially pears, started maturing significantly, meaning their hardness decreased by the day. We added a lot of Smartfresh to maintain hardness, but we will only be able to see the consequences of the heat in November. Three years ago we had many ‘flops’, and we will have to wait and see if that will happen again this year. The subsoil of Elstar apples is also starting to turn a little yellow. That will certainly cause losses, although that will not necessarily be negative for the free market.”
Wilbert, Nico and Anton van Wijk
The cultivator has no complaints about trade during the first month. “We are now supplying Elstar to supermarkets for 45-55 cents, depending on size. Prices for Conference pears is just below 60 cents for the As, but those prices do not mean much, because we have yet to factor in cooling costs. If those are still the prices in November, you will have a loss. The first week of October traditionally causes a bit of a slump in trade. I’ve been told the cooling cells are not completely filled up, and that was not the case last year. However, that does not have to be negative at all. We are now hoping the consequences for quality will not be as bad as we had thought. I have heard some people harvested the final Conference pears only last week, I do have my reservations about their quality.”
For more information:
Vicus Fruit
Wilbert van Wijk
Beusichemseweg 134a
3997 ML 't Goy