At the moment, there is a great demand for watermelons in gastronomy. Just in time for Easter, the first products from Spain and Morocco arrived simultaneously in wholesale this week. "Preliminary forecasts for pricing are positive: Next week, prices are expected to adjust to the market. If the temperature rises, as is announced, by the end of this week, demand will be boosted further," says Kenan Kilia, buyer and seller of Herner Gastro Service GmbH.
Last year, the price moved around €1.30 apiece. This season, the prices are in the normal range (€1.00-1.15 apiece). "Spain primarily supplies seedless products, while Morocco mainly markets melons with seeds. "The market will probably rely more on seedless melons," says Kilia. As expected, the campaign will go on until the end of July, but when the quality remains right, it could be extended by one month. "Due to the high temperatures and corresponding demand, we were very satisfied last year. However, sales were relatively poor in 2017 due to the weather," says Kilia.
Turkish pointed peppers
Depending on the market, the goods are either imported through agencies in the Netherlands or Germany, or occasionally directly from Spain. What is important is good quality and a suitable price.
The HGS GmbH was founded about seven years ago. The last two years it was increasingly focused on fruits and vegetables. The Turkish fresh range is an important pillar of the company: At present Turkish pointed peppers, are traded in large volumes, for instance. Kilia: "At the moment, the market is moving from the Antalya region to Mersin, because of its moderate quality, the price is at a relatively high level. Since we have a good supplier there, we can supply our customers as usual."
On the occasion of Easter, sales were noticeably up since last week. "At the moment we are very satisfied with the orders we have. We hope that we can continue the increased sales until Pentecost, at the same time introducing a few new products," Kilia concludes.
For more information:
Herner Gastro Service - HGS GmbH
Inh. Emil Hristov
Bahnhofstr. 280
44629 Herne
+49 2323 - 988 1388
hgs_herne@web.de
www.hgs-herne.com