“We can finally report some good news about the situation on the Belgian pear market. We are eventually at the price level we have been waiting for for months. If you keep believing, things turn out well in the end," says Tony Derwael van Bel’Export.
“The Belgian auction house has done its job. In times of scarcity, auctions are the best option out there. The prices for Class 1 pears are €0,15 higher than normal for their size. This means people are paying €0,70 to €0,80 more for the good sizes. Those are good prices."
“These fairly high prices are a result of the good demand from the countries east of Belgium. Easter Europe is well represented in the market. There is, however, also satisfactory demand from Germany. We see that Southern Europe is starting to enter the market too."
"But I am afraid we will get a slight dip in the market during Fruit Logistica. Many buyers are in Berlin for this trade show. Obviously, fewer sales are made then. We must be sensible then. We must offer fewer pears during that time," says Tony.
Traders also have only positive remarks about the pears' quality. "Their quality is definitely better than last year. We must, simply, admit that last season, we picked the pears too late. This year, they store much better. There are, however, problems with rough peels. This issue means we have many Class 2 pears. This classification represents up to 30% of the sizes."
"Fortunately, Class 2 pears are selling well this year too. Buyers from Eastern Europe must just keep paying good prices for these. But, I do think we must clear some stock in Belgium. In this way, we can keep benefiting from the favorable market situation," concludes Tony.
For more information:
Tony Derwael
Bel'Export
2 Nerem Street
3840 Borgloon, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0) 124 40 551
Email: belexport@belexport.com
Website: www.belexport.com