Cédric Geens of W. Jockheere, an import company in Brussels, Belgium, has called the Florida grapefruit season "a season to be best forgotten". Last year hurricane Irma ravaged the area in the US, causing massive damage. There was not a lot left of the grapefruits.
"It is extremely difficult to find any grapefruits in Florida. There is minimal volume available - an estimated 60% to 70% less than usual. The quality is also not great this year. You can clearly see the grapefruits have suffered."
Other than this, Cédric sees few peculiarities in the market. "I think we find ourselves in a stable period. There are no surprises from the Spanish side, where there were normal harvests."
That there is nothing special happening on the Belgian citrus market is reiterated by Peter Maes of Zeghers N.V., also from Brussels. "It is actually quiet on all fronts - with the oranges, with the clementines... Why this is, I do not know. With the clementines, we are in the midst of the change-over from the Clemenules to other varieties such as the Tango."
When it comes to pineapples, also imported by Zeghers, very little has also happened over the last two weeks. "This is mainly due to the poor quality, which has left a lot to be desired over the past two weeks."
For more information:
W. Jonckheere SPRL
W. Jonckheere will be at FruitLogistica next month. They can be found in Hall 6.2/D-07.