"We want to start small and who knows what will happen"

Nico and Wilbert van Wijk enter first complete season with Vicus Fruit

At the start of the top fruit season last year Wilbert and Nico van Wijk decided to start their own trading company. "We were more interested in trading than in our own exclusive cultivation company, which is the specialty of my father Anton," Wilbert says. At the beginning of this year the first invoice of Vicus Fruit was sent out. The company specializes in sorting for third parties and selling top fruit

At the moment we are finishing the rebuilding of the shed into the new sorting area including offices. The premises have to be ready in October. In it the family already have a modern cold store with 37 cells at their disposal, in which in total 4 million kilo's of fruit can be stored. "In any case we have the possibilities and the space, which complies with all certification requirements and are of interest to every party in the market" Wilbert says.

Nico and Wilbert van Wijk

The brothers do not have any exceptional plans for growing. "We will not say that we will trade in millions of kilo's annually immediately and we have no intention to become too large. In the top fruit world there are two options, become large or remain small. We want to start small and who knows what will come of that. The cooling activities remain under the partnership, but we are also emphatically directing ourselves to sorting for third parties. The area of the parental company is 14 HA and that is not very large in terms of fruit ideas. We will certainly start looking at companies in the neighbourhood or other areas in the Netherlands."

"And who knows what the future will bring," Wilbert continues. "I lived in Argentina for seven years and developed a nice network in the South American trade. We will not start importing immediately, but a custom location for South American companies could be a good start in the future and to import could then be a logical follow-up. In the first instance we concentrate on the Dutch fruit and vegetable wholesalers. A large client has already requested us to pack for them a few days a week. Work will come automatically. I am full of faith about this. Especially when our name is established a bit more in the market."

"In the last instance we want to build a long term relationship with growers, so that we are assured of a continuous supply of quality fruit. Because there is no improvement if one wants to grab it all every year" Wilbert laughs. "Of course we use my fathers' knowledge, who knows a lot of growers and he himself also enjoys it a lot. It almost appears as if he is more occupied with our business than that he is busy with his own work."

The trader is looking positively at the top fruit season. "I expect the pear harvest, especially with the Conference, to be bigger than was predicted. It is only waiting now to see whether they will be of the correct sizes. The volume of apples will be somewhat smaller and I expect a shortage this season after Elstar. All in all I am positive about the season. After the high prices of the last season I hope that prices will stabilize this season. The early apples were reasonably priced and I therefore hope that this will continue and that supermarkets will fight the competition battles with the apples and pears."

For more information:
Vicus Fruit
Wilbert van Wijk
134a, Beusichemseweg
3997 ML 't Goy
Tel: +31 30 601 26 76
vicus@duurzaamfruit.com
www.duurzaamfruit.com

Publication date: Mon 16 Sep 2013