Easter sometimes seems to surpass even Christmas in importance for many wholesalers. The return of local products to the market in large volumes means that the run-up to the holiday is always a time to pull out all the stops. "Still, it does depend on the weather. If it's bad, sales always dip a bit, but if it's too nice, everyone heads to the coast for a long weekend, which isn't ideal either. This year, however, the conditions seem just right," says Ellen Sebrechts of Sebrechts Groenten en Fruit.
"We see that it will be slightly less beautiful than last week, but still pleasant, with temperatures around 17 to 18 degrees," she continues. "That means more people will stay home, yet there is still the desire to go all out for Easter. Moreover, it falls late this year, so I expect strong sales. It's also a great period because special Belgian products become available again. People are a bit tired of the produce from recent months. Grapes and clementines are slowing down, and there's a real shift toward spring items."
"Brussels sprouts are finished, but butter beans, string beans, parsley, and potatoes are in demand. Spanish stone fruit is also starting to come in more and more. It's nice that we can begin with those again, and customers enjoy seeing them in stores," she adds. "There's an incredible variety of potatoes available now—packed, precooked, peeled, baby, French. It's unreal how many types there are these days. They all sell well and remain stable in price."
Still, the most popular products by far are strawberries and asparagus, the businesswoman notes. "Everyone wants to highlight these products during this period. Green, white, peeled—everything sells itself. What stands out is that both asparagus and strawberries have dropped in price. On Monday, prices were still relatively stable, but by Tuesday, they were already falling, and yesterday they dropped sharply. Last week's beautiful weather led to a surge in supply this week, and demand hasn't quite caught up yet. We'll see how things develop as Easter approaches. The quality is excellent, so if the prices remain low, that's not a bad thing for sales."
"In addition to strawberries, local raspberries and blackberries have also started coming in again. It has been a challenging time with the Portuguese and Spanish supply due to poor weather there, so it's great to have Belgian products back on the shelves. Spanish fruit has been expensive, and the quality hasn't always been great, so we're happy to switch back to domestic. It gives us a clearer idea of what to expect. All in all, we're looking forward to a great few days."
"Easter is the busiest holiday of the year for us," says Jarno Kwakkel, commercial director of Postuma AGF. "Especially this year, with Easter falling late, there is strong demand for A&A—strawberries and asparagus. Because it was warm last weekend, supply is quite high, and prices are falling this week, whereas they usually rise just before Easter. That creates great sales opportunities!"
Full warehouse at Postuma AGF
For more information:
Postuma AGF
Manenbergring 2
8271 RX IJsselmuiden
Tel: +31 (0)38 3370099
[email protected]
www.postuma.nl
Sebrechts Groenten & Fruit 
Kielsbroek 4
2020 Antwerpen, Belgium
+32 32374192
[email protected]
www.sebrechtsfruit.be