“A gap has been created in the strawberry market. This is because the summer crops were picked so quickly. Now we have to wait for the new harvest. This shortage will last for about three weeks", says Frank Royan of the Belgian company, Welroy Fruit. Due to this low supply, strawberry prices have shot up. "The price for 500g of large strawberries is between EUR3 and EUR4. For the smaller sizes, the prices are between EUR2 and EUR2,5 per 500g. This is too expensive for this time of year."
Many small strawberries were harvested this season. "The price for larger strawberries have remained fairly good over this last period but the small sizes have been dirt cheap. Due to the warm weather, we have had a 25-30% loss of production. We have also been picking a lot more small-sized fruits. Usually, about 75% of the strawberries we pick are large. This year, this was only around 50%”, says Royan. It is expected that the sizes will be reasonably good for the new harvest.
The demand for strawberries is relatively constant throughout the season. It is, however, difficult to predict the coming season. Prices are high, and there is a chance that markets or supermarket chains will drop out of the program. Greenhouse strawberries will become available at around mid-October. This could make sales difficult. “We have never experienced a season like this. The dry, hot weather has turned the market on its head. Now, we wait to see what the upcoming period will bring", concludes Frank.
For more information:
Frank Royan
Welroy Fruit
132A Langenakker Street
3830 Wellen
Tel: +32 (0) 477 741 259
Royenfrank@hotmail.com
www.welroyfruit.be