"We've had beautiful weather in the past five to six months. That made for a fantastic summer season. There was a lot of demand for Spanish produce. The supply of melons and stone fruit was limited. That was due to the spring weather conditions. That resulted in higher prices, which was positive for sales," says Cédric Geens of W. Jonckheere in Belgium.
"We're in an intermediate season now. The summer season ended at the end of last week/beginning of this week. Now, we're waiting for autumn products. The current Spanish citrus season is slowly getting starting. We've already received the first tangerines and clementines. The first pomegranates and Persimmons are also already on the market. Spanish mangos have been around for over a month. They're selling well."
The importer's expecting walnuts from California and the well-known Florida grapefruit. That's within the next few weeks. "The first grapefruits will be loaded within a week. We expect them to arrive in the first week of November. So far, the growing season has gone smoothly. Last week they had some precipitation, but overall everything looks good," says Geens.
The anti-corona measures are becoming stricter in Belgium and the Netherlands again. Cédric has noticed clients becoming increasingly anxious again too. "That's logical. Nobody knows what's to come. Everyone fears we'll go back to the March scenario. That uncertainty affects sales. We'll have to wait and see how this virus evolves. Unfortunately, we have little influence on it," he concludes.
For more information:
Cédric Geens
W. Jonckheere
Tel: +32 (0) 224 26 103
Email: cgeens@wjonckheere.be