"The high prices we saw with last season's apples, due to lack of supply all across Europe, is not going to be the case this year. All fruits are earlier this year because of the warm weather, and there will be larger volumes, which means that there will also be pressure for lower prices. The apples from last year are almost gone and large producers are still benefiting from the higher prices with their remaining stock out of the cold stores," shared Dariusz Turek from Consorfrut.
Although more production is expected, there has been very little expansion in production area, especially since the Russian embargo a few years ago.
Most of the exports for apples, along with tomatoes, iceberg, cauliflower and broccoli from Consorfrut are sent to EU countries such as France, Spain, Italy, Croatia and Greece. Dariusz shared that the company is looking to Africa for the coming season, but that this is still a work in progress.
Too much supply affecting tomato growers
This is also proving to be a difficult year for greenhouse tomato growers, with large volumes in the domestic market, but also coming from the Netherlands.
Prices are expected to get even worse in the next few weeks when the open ground season starts. Open ground tomatoes are sold mainly on traditional markets, that is still a popular way for consumers to buy fresh veg in Poland. Dariusz said that for the supermarkets, the decision is made based on price first and flavour second, however the market is changing, with more and more pink tomatoes on shelves in supermarkets.
For more information:
Dariusz Turek
Consorfrut
Tel:+48 12 342 01 00
Fax: +48 12 342 01 10
Email: dariusz.turek@consorfrut.pl