The first Turkish pomegranates arrived this morning at P. Seelen in Grubbenvorst. Although the trading company is mainly active as a vegetable exporter, it slid into pomegranates via Turkish tomatoes a few years ago. "We have our own grower who has good quality and can deliver them according to our specifications. He exports the smaller sizes to the Middle East and the large sizes come to us," says Rene Leenders.
The team in Turkey that packages the pomegranates, monitors the quality and takes care of the customs papers. Rene is second from left, next to him Marc Seelen and Mr. Gursoy van Gorsoy Tarim and Yasin Karaca, the employee of P. Seelen in Turkey. The two ladies are responsible for the quality and the export documents. Note: the photo was taken last year, so before Corona
Today the early variety Caner has arrived and within three weeks the first pomegranates of the thicker variety Hicar are also expected. "We expect a good season. The range is larger this year than it was last year and we expect many large sizes," says Rene. "In the spring it was very hot for a few days, so there was some sun damage, but luckily it was so early in the season that these pomegranates could be cut out, which meant the others had more room to grow."
Left: Mr. Gursoy from Gursoy Tarim. The pomegranates with the Tsjakka brand are exclusively packed for the company P. Seelen. Right; Rene Leenders
"Demand is very good. The first truck arrived this morning, but we have already sold quite a bit," says Rene. "There are also pomegranates from Spain and Egypt on the market, but they are completely different varieties. The Turkish pomegranates can count on a lot of enthusiasm from our customers. Prices are around 2 Euro per kilo. We mainly sell them at on German wholesale markets. At the moment they are still available in black crates, but once we start with the Hicas pomegranates, we will also sell them in our own brand Tsjakka. We expect the first quinces to arrive in mid October, we also source these from our own growers."
For more information:
Rene Leenders
P. Seelen 
Venrayseweg 118A
5928 RH Venlo
Tel: +31 77 3873250
rene@pseelen.nl
www.pseelen.nl