“Spanish stone fruit season going exceptionally well”

“Because of the beautiful summer, the stone fruit season is going very well this year,” says Cedric Geens of importer W. Jonckheere. “Damage suffered by the stone fruit mid and late May means there wasn’t an overproduction, unlike in previous years. We also didn’t have any quality problems this year, and the year is going better than 2017.” The share of nectarines compared to peaches is getting larger and larger. “Both white and yellow nectarines gain popularity every year, while apricots are in trouble each year.”

The Spanish stone fruit isn’t affected by French product. “French stone fruit suffered a lot of damages, and therefore doesn’t focus on export, but on the domestic market. The French fruit is more expensive than the Spanish fruit as well. A kilo of Spanish stone fruit now sells for about 1 to 1.20 euro on average, while the French costs about 2.50 to 3 euro,” Cedric says. “The clientele of the French stone fruit is different from that of the Spanish fruit as well. The French fruit is sold more in affluent Flanders, yet I suspect this changes every year. The qualitative differences between Spanish and French fruit are becoming smaller.”