The warm weather isn't immediately causing headaches in the nut trade. "We might sell slightly less dried fruits and dates, but people are buying more walnuts and pine nuts for salads," says Richard Strijbis of Tovano from Maasdijk.
The nut trader received the first new harvest of hand cracked walnuts from Chile. "Because they are cracked by hand, they are dent free and remain intact well," according to Richard. "This is a product on the rise for us. These hand cracked nuts are really top of the bill, including in presentation. These are the nuts you find on bonbons," says Richard.
"But there is a price attached to these hand cracked nuts. However, because we can offer two varieties from the United States, three varieties from Eastern Europe and four varieties from Chile, we can offer every customer a walnut that suits them. We have the same nuts from Chile, but machine cracked. This is apparent from the appearance of the nut, but it also makes them considerably cheaper," says Richard.
Finally, the small pine nut market is causing trouble in the market. "A point of 'pine'," Richard jokes. "A small harvest and large demand have resulted in an exploding market. We still see daily price rises and the end isn't in sight yet. Thankfully we have sufficient alternatives for the summer. As well as the new harvest of walnuts, we also offer beautiful Medjoul dates and our new power mix with papaya."
For more information:
Richard Strijbis
Tovano
Transportweg 47
4676 LM Maasdijk
Tel.: (0174) 52 83 33
Fax: (0174) 52 80 01
richard@tovano.nl
www.tovano.nl