“The transition between the European season and that of the southern hemisphere is going smoothly. Volume from both origins is currently still on the market. We have been able to serve our customers year-round this year as well,” says Urs Luder from GKE. “We even had room for new buyers, who we normally couldn’t give as much, if anything at all. More and more new markets are indicating they want Kanzi. It’s clear global demand is still much larger than supply.”
Many origins
The volume in the southern hemisphere is steadily growing.
“It’s difficult to estimate by how much at the moment. The apples are distributed to Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and North America from the southern hemisphere. Additionally, they’re also sold on the domestic market. We’re also seeing the harvest growing in Australia, but all of that is sold in the country itself. Sales are going very quickly there.”
Producers
There’s also still demand from growers. “They see Kanzi is successful for other producers. We even get requests from regions in which planting isn’t possible. Many areas have been researched, but Kanzi can’t be grown properly everywhere, we’re very selective. We also carefully plan expansions. Based on the information from growers and cooperatives, we can estimate how many trees are necessary. We have to make sure Kanzi is planted driven by the market, and that’s necessary with concept varieties.” Some producers occasionally complain because payout prices aren’t the same everywhere. “There are differences, it’s true, but that can’t be avoided. We work with differing cost structures, different pack-outs and qualities. One grower might get more from one hectare than another grower, and that can’t always be predicted. In general we know Kanzi is a good variety with high yields and good returns, so we fortunately mostly have satisfied producers.”
Consequences frost
This year, the top fruit sector was hit hard by frost in April. “The Kanzi trees were influenced by the frost as well, and we much regret that growers have been affected. Yet, this also allows us to mention the strength of the concept, which is the spreading of risks. Kanzi is produced in multiple regions all over the world, from Italy to Hamburg and from Dresden to Kent. Multiple regions have been affected this year, but not all of them as much. We cannot yet precisely say what the impact is in figures, but we are not expecting to harvest dramatically less than last season. We still expect our markets to be served with Kanzi. As entrepreneurs, we have to be able to consider the best, the most realistic and the worst. And we also have to be able to know what to do in that worst case scenario. Fortunately, we’re not expecting the worst this season. Right now, we don’t have any reason to be nervous.”
For more information:
Urs Luder
GKE NV
Kernielerweg 59
B-3840 Borgloon - Belgium
T: +32 12 33 99 10
E: urs.luder@gkefruit.com
www.kanziapple.com
www.migopear.com
www.greenstarapple.com