At the Hamburg wholesale market, all the hustle and bustle has almost completely disappeared in the last two weeks, unfortunately. "In this very unusual situation we are in at the moment, unfortunately nobody can predict what is coming or what effects it will have," says Zidan Omeirat, Managing Director of the local company Johann Quast LLC, which has now been active in fruit wholesale for 30 years.
"Of course, this crisis has also resulted in economic losses fo
r us. Nevertheless, we are still optimistic about the future. Our customers are old people's homes and nursing homes, hospitals. We therefore have a responsibility to continue to supply them with fresh fruit and vegetables every day," Omeirat explains.
Mutual support
The surplus goods were given to the catering customers, who organize meals for the needy in cooperation with the Hamburg Homeless Assistance organisation. Omeirat: "Especially in such difficult times, it is more important than ever that we all stick together and support each other. We fully understand the extreme measures taken to protect all of us, but we still hope that the situation will return to normal in the coming weeks."
No worries about supply chain bottlenecks
The winter months are behind us, so, as in every other year, we work mainly with the producers of the region. "So at least we're not worried about supply chain shortages."
An independent division of Johann Quast supplies the arctic island of Spitsbergen. Due to the isolated geographical location of the archipelago, the crisis has hardly hit there and fortunately no infections have been announced yet. Omeirat: "As usual, we supply the inhabitants of the Barentsburg settlement there with all fresh products, such as apples, potatoes, grapes, etc. We will continue to do so."
For more information:
Johann Quast GmbH
Obst & Gemüse Großhandel
Großmarkt Hamburg
Auf der Brandshofer Schleuse 2
20097 Hamburg
Tel-Nr. +49 (0)40 30 37 40 45
Fax-Nr. +49 (0)40 30 39 32 27
info@johann-quast.de