"Grape sales were a bit slow the week before Christmas, but last week wasn't bad at all, both nationally and internationally," says Jaap den Boer of the Dutch company Olympic Fruit. "Over the past few weeks, somewhat more white grapes have arrived, particularly from Namibia. The South African supply is still lagging slightly, though they had a good 'packing week' last week."
"I generally expect quite a bit of fruit on the market towards mid-late January. There's still availability/presence from Brazil, too, which led to a slight market drop last week," Jaap explains. "However, the white grape market seems to be stabilizing, while the red grape one remains lean."
"There, Brazil is almost off the market, and most of the volume must come from Namibia. South Africa's arrivals are lagging because those grapes didn't color well. The red grape market should be demanding until mid, perhaps even late January," Jaap continues.
Jaap (left) with colleagues Ralph Priester and Lennart van den Heuvel
"However, delays are commonplace again and promise to become a significant factor in availability over the coming weeks. Last week, two large ships were supposed to set sail from South Africa, but they're still in Cape Town. That's due to a lack of capacity and strong winds. I'm quite worried about that and fear it will cause gaps soon. The conventional ships do offer an alternative, but they'll definitely not entirely alleviate this concern."
Jaap speaks highly of the grapes' quality. "There are also several new promotions planned from week 52. These were absent due to the high market prices, which undoubtedly affected consumption. The increasing willingness to promote will certainly help with grape sales," he concludes.
For more information:
Jaap den Boer
Olympic Fruit
40a Handelscentrum ZHZ
2991 LD, Barendrecht, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 180 646 210
j.denboer@olympicfruit.com
www.olympicfruit.com