Limes, lemons & more. That is how the brothers Bouman, René and Peter, describe FMI’s core activities, short and to the point. “After some internal changes, we continued with new energy and with a small team at the beginning of the year. We do not have ambitions to be large, but we want to be the best at what we do. We want to further expand our function as niche players in coming years.”
Focus on overseas
The importers found that specialising in limes, lemons and a limited range of exotics was best for them. “We expect consumption of both limes and lemons to increase significantly in the coming years,” says René. “We focus on the overseas packet, and with that, we can supply many customers. Our customers usually import from countries such as Spain and Turkey themselves, and we fill in the overseas part. We supply limes from Mexico and Brazil year-round, and we want to start with Colombian limes as well. The focus for lemons is on the summer season. Additionally, we supply a selective packet of exotics, such as papaya, fig, blackberry, sweet potato and ginger, and that is primarily aeroplane trade.”
FMI’s customers consist of wholesalers, retailers and food service customers throughout Europe. “Many customers first compile a list of products and then search for the best supply of a product, after all, this supply does not necessarily always need to be the cheapest. We hope to conquer a larger market share with our specialism, by selling smaller volumes to more customers,” says Peter. “This might be riskier when the market is bad, but the upside is that you open up more sales channels.”
Good average sales price for lemons
The previous year went well for FMI. “The lemon market was unprecedentedly good until the second week of August, with market prices around 40 euro at the start of the season. The market then collapsed to bulk-purchase prices, and expectations had to be adjusted. But it was still a good year for Argentinian cultivators, and almost everyone signed for the average sales price in advance,” Peter continues. “The market for limes is now recovering, after almost two months of very bad prices, so we are optimistic.”
For more information:
FMI
Handelsweg 120
2988 DC Ridderkerk