On the German wholesale markets, domestic lots are already being marketed. Today's market share is currently over 26 percent of the total marketed. However, the French products with just under 27 percent are still far and away at the top, according to the Federal Institute for Agriculture and Food. In food retail (LEH), the transition to native cabbages from protected cultivation (tunnels, etc.) usually takes place a few weeks later.
Cordis GmbH in Ostrau (Saxony) is also close to switching over. Normally, the wholesaler only sells Italian cauliflower during the winter season. This product comes from contract cultivation in Italy, with a total production area of approximately 120 hectares. But this season, two weeks ago, they decided to buy the last supplies from France. This week and the next, French cauliflower will still be traded, then the switch to domestic goods is expected to take place. These products will come from their partner company in Arensdorf; their own production, reports the sales department.
The weight of the cabbages varies a lot. “German cauliflowers with leaf currently weigh about 1 kg. French goods, however, weigh 2 to 2.2 kg a piece. Customers will have to make a decision." But there is an additional problem with regard to continuity and price volatility for French imports. "The French market in the future should focus more on customer requirements. Because of market speculation and all kinds of risks, marketers simply don’t take pleasure anymore in trading French cauliflowers.”
This was the key reason for Cordis -two years ago- to set up an alternative to the French auction system in Italy, in order to offer the food retail industry its own production with fixed quantity planning and fair market prices.
Local open field season
The season of local open field produce is still not here yet. In northern Germany, the plants were planted only two weeks ago, reports an employee of Hagge Gemüsehandel GmbH, based in Dithmarschen. The local harvest will probably start at the end of June.
Full range
Cordis fruit and vegetable GmbH is a wholesale business with a packing station and banana ripening installation within the conventional and organic ranges. The company supplies grocery retailers and wholesalers in Saxony and neighbouring states with a full range of fresh fruits and vegetables. Regarding cabbages, the company not only offers cauliflower when in season, but also Romanesque and the more colourful cauliflower varieties.
For more information:
Cordis - Obst- und Gemüsegroßhandel GmbH
Am Feldberg 2, 04749 Ostrau
Telephone: 034324 5500
Email: info@cordis-ostrau.de
Web: www.cordis-ostrau.de