The expected fall in the supply of apples in Europe is having a negative impact on the less affluent countries. Spain, Portugal and Greece are already having difficulties importing apples from France or Italy.
Spain will have issues with supply this year and demand for apples will fall, as initial prices being set by French producers are not affordable for Spanish wholesalers. The firms Castang, Blue-Whale and Perlim, with strong interests in the Spanish market, are noticing how their usual clients are not purchasing as much as they used to, because initial prices are now set 30 cents above their top settlement price. Traders working with the Spanish market are already noticing this, and it is bound to complicate things for the campaign.
In this sense, from Italy, the VOG consortium declares that "we will try to stick to our commitments with Mediterranean markets," says Gerhard Dichgans, director of the consortium, but he also points out that prices are expected to rise, because countries such as The Netherlands, Belgium or France have seen their supply fall by around 30%. Dichgans does not expect Polish exporters to introduce their varieties to the Mediterranean, as Polish varieties "are unknown in Western Europe." Dichgans thinks that Poland will become a great exporter in the Eastern countries, especially in Russia.
Source: fyh.com