Availability for Polish apples is at a very good level, as the harvest is now completely finished, says Jakub Krawczyk, export manager for Polish apple exporter Appolonia: "Right now all varieties are available for sale. The harvest is finished and we are fully ready for the season. Picking did not end early on every farm, many growers needed some additional time to complete harvesting. At the moment, there are still plenty of apples in regular cold storage, as is typical for this time of year. Growers usually avoid opening ULO chambers at this stage of the season; however, for Gala in particular, we already need fruit from ULO, so we are currently negotiating with growers to open more chambers."
© Appolonia Sp. z.o.o.
According to Krawczyk, the bulk of the production is being imported by two specific countries, but overall demand in Asia is strong as well. "Some export markets are currently buying very large volumes, especially India and Egypt. Statistics from October show these two destinations as the biggest importers of Polish apples. As expected, demand from Asia is strong. If we had more time, we would pack even more, and we believe demand will grow further in the coming months. Now that the first containers have arrived in India, many importers there have decided to start purchasing Gala. Until the end of the year, we have a full schedule of orders, which is very positive."
For the European market, there's not much excitement just yet. Demand is slow, as supply is usually abundant in these countries, Krawczyk explains: "Unfortunately, exports to Europe have not yet started on a larger scale, so we still need to wait for that market to pick up. Domestic demand is also lower, with significantly fewer orders from local supermarket chains. There are currently large supplies of apples across Europe, which is why our sales within the EU remain generally low. It is hard to predict when demand will increase, but we cannot rely on that. At the moment, our prices are not very attractive for Western countries, as they still have significant volumes of their own apples or fruit from regions with cheaper transport."
© Nick Peters | FreshPlaza.comFor the coming month, a lot of work is heading Appolonia's way, as they need sufficient stocks for both January and February, Krawczyk states. "In December, we effectively have only three weeks for loading containers. During week 52, we are not planning any shipments due to the Christmas holiday period in Poland. Transport rates during that time are also extremely high. Our main challenge now is securing sufficient volumes of Royal Gala for December and January. Due to strong sales, stocks in our own chambers are already significantly reduced. We are negotiating with growers to open additional chambers so that we can maintain deliveries."
"We typically finish loading Gala for India at the end of February. It is always better to ship earlier to avoid any issues on arrival, such as pressure marks or other defects. In March and April, apples from the Southern Hemisphere enter the market, so sending our fruit before that happens is more advantageous," Krawczyk concludes.
For more information:
Jakub Krawczyk
Appolonia
Tel. +48 785 342 930
[email protected]
www.appolonia.pl
