Moldavian plums are obviously gaining importance in the German fruit trade. In recent years, the Eastern European country has become a recognized source of high quality stone fruits in the industrial as well as fresh sector. East German wholesale group Macoo LLC recognized this trend early on and this is its second year of successfully cooperating with several reliable partners. Even in this exceptional year, hamstrung by Corona, the company was able to increase its volume sales considerably, says Managing Director Marco Henschke.
For the end of the season for native plums, Macedonia was foremost in the trade until week 39. From week 38 onwards, the first Moldovan batches came onto the market: "In the beginning there was a little competition from Bosnian and Polish offers, but the Moldovan product was most convincing in terms of quality. In terms of price, Moldovan goods were 15 percent above last year's level. However, every customer praised the quality of the goods and our customers achieved profit margins of 20-30 percent on the wholesale markets."
Moldovan plums end up mainly with resellers or in food retail stores. This means that Corona regulations nor the closure of the hospitality industry affected this segment too much.
Volume increase and season extension
Existing customers have increased their volumes considerably compared to the previous year, and new customers have been convinced. Henschke notes that Moldavian plums are particularly sought after on southern Germany's wholesale markets. This week, the last batches of this year's season will be delivered, four weeks later than last year. "All in all, we were able to sell almost 500,000 kilos this year, an increase in volume of 20-30 percent compared to last year. We could easily have imported another 200,000 kilos, but at this time of year other products come to the fore and the plum season is simply over."
Expansion of the citrus selection
Not only in the plum segment, but also in other product categories, Macoo is doing well this year. The Spanish fruit season for example, got off to a particularly successful start, Henschke explains. "Our long-standing Le Gamin quality label continues to be well received by customers. We are now offering the new M7 table orange, which has been grown since 2019 and is only available for a short time. The variety is comparable to the Navelina, but has a significantly higher Brix value and a more beautiful coloration of the skin."
Marco Henschke took over the Macoo company from its Dutch founders in 2019 and has since then expanded the business activities. The company currently has a total of nine locations in all major cities in eastern Germany, as well as customers at many German wholesale markets.
Apart from Le Gamin, this year Macoo has the Spanish Der Flieger citrus label in its assortment for the first time. year. "During the 2019/2020 citrus season, Macoo already doubled its sales. This growth is related to our large wholesale market network."
The presence in large parts of Germany makes the wholesale group an interesting trading partner. "In eastern Germany, beautiful, thick oranges -of calibers 24 and 28- are preferred. On the other hand caliber 32s are more popular in southern Germany and elsewhere. It's a similar situation with regard to clementines. This means we have the right markets for all sizes."
For more information:
Macoo GmbH
Marco Henschke
Spitzhausstraße 74
01139 Dresden
Tel: 0351/83974-28
Fax: 0351/8397445
E-Mail: info@macoo.de
www.macoo.de