"Stonefruit going well, prices not high"

The weather is good and stonefruit is selling well, despite the holidays and Ramadan. "Still, there are more than enough supplies on the market," says Cédric Geens of import company W. Jonckheere. "Supplies are very high. Sufficient volumes are coming in for nearly all the stonefruit. That's why prices aren't very high."

"Volumes are smaller for peaches," he goes on to say. "This is because in Spain, less and less of this product is grown, due to decreasing popularity. So supplies are lower, but the prices aren't that great. Only the market for apricots can be said to be better. Less is coming in from France due to hail damage this season, so demand is higher than supply, and quite a bit of money is paid for it."

He notes that the Spanish cherry season at Jonckheere has ended. "We are satisfied with it. That's something other traders, as well as the growers from Spain, have likely experienced as well. At the moment, domestic supplies are starting, and many Belgian buyers still favour that. The large sizes are doing particularly well."

This year, he hasn't imported cherries from France. "The sizes from France were too small, and the price was too high compared to the Spanish ones. The domestic market in France was apparently very good. Growers received great prices." The Spanish growers, he says, have caught up in terms of quality in recent years. "In the past, buyers were said to be willing to pay more for French cherries and other stonefruit, but that's becoming increasingly untrue, because the quality in Spain isn't lower than in France. We have a regular Spanish grower supplying to us, and we and our customers are very satisfied about that."

For more information:

Stefan Andriani
Cedric Geens
W. Jonckheere SPRL
Werkhuizenkaai 112
1000 Brussels
Tel: +32 - 22426103
Fax: +32 - 22451079