Large grades sell at a good price, while smaller ones reach prices below expectations. In addition, the produce from Greece is providing competition. The green kiwi season is in full swing and operators are busy every day trying to obtain fair prices for all quality types. Expectations for the second part of the campaign are good, especially since volumes are 20% lower than last year and up to 40% lower than the average of the past few years.
A private operator that commercialises 90% of its production abroad reports that "demand is not very strong after Christmas and the New Year. It's the same old story: large premium grades do well, while the rest doesn't. The fact is that there are lots of smaller grades due to the high temperatures and drought."
"When negotiating with a client from Canada, I reasoned on transport and the quality of the produce and proposed a price of €1.50/kg. It's not exceptional, but it would give us a margin. It has now emerged that the client would like to pay 20 cents less and quantities discussed are significant. What should we do? There are many factors to take into consideration but of course I will have to meet the client half way."
In Eastern European markets or in the Balkans, which don't require high-quality in general, the Greek produce is more competitive when it comes to prices. However, quality is at times not even comparable.
"Luckily, there won't be storage problems. Quality is good, potential Brix levels are good and the fruit stores with no problems. We just need to find better solutions for our smaller grades."