The significant delays affecting this year's stone fruit harvests, with significant reductions in the volume due to the impact of storms and hail, are affecting producers and exporters and causing prices to increase, but the transport sector is also hit and considers this situation "disastrous" for its businesses.
"During the month of May, things have gone very well with products such as melon and watermelon in the area of Almeria, at least in terms of volume," explains Salvador Pérez, of the commercial department of Transportes el Junza. "However, the results in June have been poor for us. The stone fruit market remains stagnant and that is a disaster for the refrigerated transport sector," he says.
The Spanish company based in Viator, Almeria, offers low temperature transport solutions in all of Europe. "For our company, groupage has been the main bet for a few years. The biggest problem faced by exporters and importers is the fact that transit times are becoming shorter, and the high structural costs that this type of transport requires. We are having a hard time creating the lines, but we are quite satisfied with the work we are doing, although there is always room for improvement," says Salvador Pérez.
Germany is the main destination where the company operates, in addition to Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and even Romania. "We are making a very strong bet on the setting up of groupage lines to Eastern European countries. In this past year, we have recorded the most notable growth in Hungary and Romania. These lines have been very well received by our customers, and we thank them for their help to develop them," he says.
Prices are generally higher for Spanish stone fruit, so Eastern European countries are demanding cheaper fruit from Greece, which has barely suffered the impact of the weather. "This year, a client has asked us to ship watermelons and stone fruit from Greece to Slovenia and Croatia. For us, this is an unexplored territory, but we are always open to new experiences," concludes Salvador Pérez.
For more information:
Salvador Pérez Crespo
Transportes El JunzaCtra. Viator – Alquian, Km. 1
04240 Viator, Almeria. Spain.
T: +34 950 30 44 75
M: +34 650 694 844
salva.perez@transporteseljunza.com
www.transporteseljunza.com