The stone fruit campaign is slowly but surely approaching its peak season. Weekly increasing shipments of nectarines, peaches and, above all, cherries arrive at the Vienna Wholesale Market. Due to its proximity to Italy, the products there have always been a high priority in the Viennese fresh trade. But the short and long-term challenges for the Italian drupes are numerous, says specialist Peter Haas.
For several weeks, everything at the Viennese trading company has been dominated by drupes. "It has been raining a lot in the Italian producing areas and it is partly a disaster," says Peter Haas during a visit to one of his suppliers. Qualitatively, the Italian cherries have been mostly very nice. "Due to the high prices of the paragraph leaves much to be desired, but this is quite normal at this time of the year and under these conditions."
Producers and traders are hoping that temperatures will soon skyrocket. "For stone fruit as well as strawberries, for example, the weather must be right to boost sales of all the stone fruit, which is very important."
Oversupply & inevitable price pressure
In addition to this year's weather conditions, the retailer - who buys more than 90 percent of its imported products from Italy - sees an overarching problem with stone fruit. According to Haas, the large and cheap import volumes of the food retailers from Spain, Greece and Italy and the continuous expansion of production led to a constant oversupply. "As a result, you have to expect a constant price pressure, which is why the starting point for us as a medium-sized wholesaler is very difficult. Nevertheless, it remains my concern to market high quality goods from Italy."
'Still opportunities there'
According to Haas, the stone fruit market is always in development. "There are about 20 new varieties of apricots that are tested in cultivation each year, and the consumption of nectarines and Paraguayos is increasing every year, and there are still opportunities there."
For more information:
Haas Obst, Gemüse und Südfrüchte GmbH
Großmarkt Inzersdorf
1230 Wien
Tel: +43 1 6175732
haasoffice@tmx.de
www.facebook.com/obsthaas/