By mid March the last Dutch Sweet Sensation pears had been sorted and sold. Together with the growers, The Greenery's top fruit team is looking back on a very successful season.
Results
For almost all sizes and grades of both Sweet Sensation and Sweet Dored fixed sales programs have been established this season. This season a middle price of €1.17 per kg has been realised.
With this, the Sweet Sensation has once again been withdrawn from the existing market mechanism. The average price for Sweet Sensation is - again this year - hardly season-dependent and has been well above the euro in recent years, where prices for free varieties show more fluctuations. This shows that concept varieties can bring added value to all links in the chain, starting with the fruit grower.
This year, more fixed sales lines have also been built for Sweet Dored. The average price for Sweet Dored this year was € 0.97 per kg. Ton van Wiggen (sales manager Sweet Sensation):
"We are happy that the season went well for our growers and our customers. We have managed to broaden our customer base for both Sweet Sensation and Sweet Dored. We have already agreed with a number of customers that they would like to participate in the program again next season. This is not only a good message for the growers who are now growing the variety but also for growers who are considering planting Sweet Sensation".
The trophy is this year for...
Every year, the grower with the highest average price of the season receives the Sweet Sensation challenge trophy. This year, Fruitteler Gert Huiskamp from Welsum is awarded this honour. He achieved a pack out of 80% Sweet Sensation. Fruitteler John Kuijper from Wijdenes already won the trophy before and won the same medal as Gert Huiskamp, just a few tenths of a cent. He does not deserve a prize, but an honourable mention is certainly worth it.
Because of the corona-measures it is not possible to hand over the annual goblet in person now, this will happen at a later moment.
Organizationally on a roll
This year, the Sweet Sensation pears were sorted and packaged at Van de Water Fruit in Waalwijk and at Westende Fruit Cultivation in Fijnaart. In terms of organization this went flawlessly. On the one hand because the pears came out of the cells very well and on the other hand because the sorted batches could easily leave the packing stations.
Lena Zevenbergen (Chairman of the Sweet Sensation Growers' Working Group): "This year we have received many compliments from growers about the smooth progress of the season, the communication towards the growers and the clear sorting overviews. This, in combination with excellent prices, the agreements made for the coming marketing year and the commitment to further improve the pack-out, means that we, as growers, are going into the future together with The Greenery with a great deal of confidence".
Possibilities for new growers
Because demand for Sweet Sensation is growing, The Greenery is looking for growers who want to plant the variety this spring or in the coming years.
Ton van Wiggen: "We already know that a number of growers who are already growing the variety have plans for expansion but there is certainly room for new growers".
Growers who are interested in trees can report to Marc Schoenmakers.
For more information:
Harm-Jan Eikelenboom
The Greenery BV
Tel: +31 650 214 605
Email: H.Eikelenboom@thegreenery.com
www.thegreenery.com