"We will receive the first Spanish stone fruit at the start of next week. We will start with the first white nectarines from Aromas and we will also receive the first yellow fleshed peaches from the brand Royal," says Henk Vlaeminck of Van Dijk Foods Belgium.
Compared to last year the season will start a week early. "We will start with nice sizes of calibre A and maybe double A. We will start with a few pallets next week, but the volumes normally pick up quite quickly. Aromas intends to get through 200 hectares of fruit within 4 to 5 weeks."
The trader will have peaches and nectarines available in four different colours in his assortment from April 9. "The weather conditions during the growing season were excellent. They had quite a cold winter with a few days of frost which is good for the trees' rest. During the blossoming there was a lot of sun and not a lot of rain. We are therefore expecting fruit with a very high Brix value. The Spanish growers we work with are specialised in early fruit and fruit with a high Brix value, so we can expect tasty fruit," according to Henk. "In the past we always had a good demand for the early stone fruit. It's hard to tell at the moment, but the demand largely depends on good weather."
Soft fruit
"Besides stone fruit we are also in the middle of the Spanish strawberry and blueberry season. This week and next we will achieve a peak in the supply of strawberries. Raspberries and blackberries are having some more problems, as we have had a lower supply for the last two to three weeks. The blueberry season is going well, partly due to temperatures of around 23 degrees," concludes Henk.
For more information:
Henk Vlaeminck
Van Dijk Foods Belgium
Kempenarestraat 50
2860 Sint-Katelijne-Waver
Tel.: +32 15 55 65 61
Fax.: +32 15 55 65 66
henk@vdfb.be
www.vandijkfoods.be