“Since last week, stone fruit sales have picked up again. Despite the recent nice weather, sales were still lagging," says Henk Vlaeminck of Van Dijk Foods in Belgium.
Currently, 80% of the stone fruit on the market is from Spain. Large volumes are expected this week. We have gone through a period of lower stone fruit supplies. But, from this week, we are expecting more volume."
There are lots of small sizes available in Spain. This is thanks to the warm weather in some parts of that country. "These fruits are actually too small for the Belgian and Dutch market. In Italy, the harvest failed a little. There, the small fruits go, in punnets, to supermarkets or the Italian or Scandinavian countries."
“The prices are, considering the season, on the high side. For the large sizes, the prices are at around the €2 per kg. The smaller size C fruits are selling for between €0,90 and €1,10 per kg. Plum sales are normal for this time of year. Apricots are, however, performing well after a difficult time."
“Grapes are not selling well at the moment. It is still a week or two early for grapes. They are very nice looking but are not very tasty. In about two weeks, the Sicilian grapes will be a lot better," concludes Henk.
For more information:
Henk Vlaeminck
Van Dijk Foods Belgium
50 Kempenare Street
2860 Sint-Katelijne-Waver, BE
Tel.: +32 (0) 155 56 561
Fax.: +32 (0) 155 56 566
henk@vdfb.be
www.vandijkfoods.be