At the moment, stone fruit of all kinds quickly finds its to the German wholesale and retail trade. Even in Cologne, stone fruit is now traded in pleasing quantities. While imported nectarines, peaches and Paraguayos are currently being offered in large volumes, foreign plums are still lagging behind in domestic trade, as Joachim Montag from Cologne, who has his base in the local wholesale market, sees it.
Click here for the complete photo report on the wholesale market.
Joachim Montag has been specializing in the marketing of imported fruit and vegetables for 34 years. In addition to drupes, the retailer currently offers Belgian ice-cream and Dutch spiced peppers.
Flat peaches popular, red peaches and plums undone
Year-round, the retailer offers a rich selection of vegetable and fruit imports to his customers, who are to be found the areas of catering, wholesale and weekly markets. Currently, drupes of all kinds are determining events. "The fruit business is doing really well across the board," said Montag. "Flat peaches or Paraguayos are enjoying increasing popularity. Sales of red peaches on the other hand are a little down over the last few years. But drupes are extremely weather dependent. That already is a significant factor in the trade."
A stone fruit that has lost some of its appeal in recent years is the plum. "In addition to the other stone fruit crops, plums are now increasingly sourced from Spain. However, sales in specialist shops are limited. By comparison, we achieve better sales with products from overseas in the winter, even though the southern European fruits are currently much cheaper," Montag muses.
Overarching developments
For the past 34 years, the main focus of the fruit trade has been the marketing of high-quality and aromatic fruits and vegetables. Particular attention is paid to quality brands such as Sonnenkinder and Royal, which have long proven themselves in the specialist trade. "Overall, I see an increase in loose goods, in every customer base. At the same time, increasingly processed goods and convenience products are being offered in the catering industry. But we will stay with fresh goods for the time being," Montag explains.
Finally, Montag sees a third and final trend in today's wholesale. "The weekly market - one of our most important clientele - is increasingly shifting to the weekend over the last few years. This has the consequence that the wholesale market loses its liveliness during the week."
For more information:
J.Montag-Frucht GmbH
GF: Joachim Montag
Marktstr 10
50968 Köln
Tel. 0221-9347940
montagfrucht@netcologne.de
www.montagfrucht.de