There’s currently a good supply of Chilean blueberries. “Late in January we had many bad arrivals, which resulted in a downwards market, but the market is now coming out of that slump,” says Jan Marc Schulz of SFI Rotterdam. Blueberries are a product with a large share nowadays. “We still expect at least three more weeks of supply from Chile. Supply from other production countries, such as Spain and Morocco, has been limited up till now, so we’re facing the coming weeks with confidence.”
Last week, the Dutch importer also received the first Chilean grapes. “Supply is two weeks later than last year, but the start was extremely early then. The market situation for the grapes is acceptable at the moment, although the Chilean growers are worried about what India will do. It was said Indian grape supply would be at a lower level, but for now, more and more grapes are being exported. It could help sales that there’s less supply of grapes from South Africa. We regularly receive arrivals of various varieties of white and red seedless grapes from South Africa. We also receive blue and white seeded grapes, such as Victoria, Alphonse Lavalee and Dan Ben Hannah.”
A ray of light is the market for Chilean plums this season. “These sales are going surprisingly well. There’s demand throughout Europe this season. There’s less supply from other production countries, and that’s good for the Chilean shipping agents,” Jan Marc says. The overseas top fruit season has started again as well. “The first overseas Carmen pears from Chile arrived last week, and Williams from Argentina are also in transit. Conference pears might still be available on the market, but there are always specialist customers for a Carmen pear with a nice blush.”
For some years now, European importers have been getting more and more competition from Asian buyers when buying Chilean fruit. Yet Jan Marc isn’t worried about getting plenty of trade for SFI in coming years. “However, that’s thanks to our sustained cooperation with our shipping agents and the reputation we have built for ourselves as a South America specialist. We still continue to build on our range. This year, we added products including mangoes and avocados to our assortment.”
For more information:
Jan Marc Schulz
SFI Rotterdam
Marconistraat 31
3029 AG Rotterdam, NL
jmschulz@sfifruit.com
www.sfifruit.com