The top fruit season is now in its final stages. "Currently, pear sales are a bit slow, but that could also be due to the holidays in many places of the world. Sales should continue to do quite well," says Peter van Haaften, of the Dutch company Van Haaften Fruit.
"Pear prices are currently stable or slightly declining, but I still expect them go up towards the end of the season," says Peter. "We find it important to be able to supply our customers year-round. That's why we still have pears available; otherwise, we would have been out of them a long time ago."
The prices of unsorted pears range between 95 cents and 1 euro, while the sorted ones cost between 1.10 and 1.25 euros. Quality-wise, the fruit trader says that, on average, the pears are still good. "We were a bit wary about that at the start of the season, but except for an occasional incident, the quality has remained excellent throughout the campaign."
"As for apples, we are now purely focused on the domestic market, and I expect we will run a bit short towards the end of the season. Prices for the Jonagold range between 80 cents and 1 euro, depending on the packaging format. The Elstar is a bit more expensive than that," says Peter.
"Financially speaking, it has been a good season and growers are generally satisfied. I only hope growers won't become overconfident. Every season is different. With apples, in fact, you're highly dependent on the domestic market, and if you don't have a retail customer, you simply won't sell apples. With pears, we have a bit more sales opportunities worldwide," says Peter.
For more information:
Van Haaften Fruit
Bommelweg 26
4014 PW Wadenoijen, the Netherlands
Tel: +31 (0)344-662211
[email protected]
www.vanhaaftenfruit.nl