The final phase of a difficult pear season has started. “It’s still challenging regarding quality, but it’s now looking as if we’ll be able to sell all pears. Because we saved the right cells for last, we managed to supply our customers until the end of the season,” says Mark Vernooij of Urfruit.
“The exporters with their permanent programmes have divided their pears, and no one’s looking for additional pears. As a result, there are hardly any pears available on the free market. This results in a stable to slightly rising market. Because the number of suppliers is decreasing – Belgium is empty, for example – a little more can be earned now, although it’s not as if we’re advertising that,” Mark explains.
“Most of the pears won’t keep until mid-August, and it’s therefore expected that the new season starts on an empty pear market, so we’ll be starting with a clean slate. As it looks now, the new pears are of good quality. However, the new pears will be a bit rougher,” Mark continues.
“Considering the problems in Italy, the total pear volume is expected to be a bit lower, so the die will be cast slightly differently. Should the warm weather last, we’ll at least have learned something as a sector this year, which is that we undoubtedly manage shelf-lives better now,” concludes Mark, who is happy with the growth experienced by Urfruit despite the difficult season. “We grew by more than 30 per cent in volume.”
For more information:
Mark Vernooij
Urfruit
Hof van Kettelerij 20
7251 DS Vorden, the Netherlands
T. +31 (0)575 47 24 73
m.vernooij@urfruit.nl
www.urfruit.nl