Erlangen-based Anevo Trading has been firmly anchored in the processing industry for many years. Parallel to the gradual generation change, the company is now also expanding its activities on the fresh market. Increasingly, stone fruits and berries from the Balkans are being imported via the Serbian location. And there is further marketing potential, says Managing Director Anneliese Vollweiler.
Fresh plums from the Balkan region are becoming increasingly popular with German retailers.
The company, founded in 2005, deals with several segments of the food trade, such as honey, frozen fruit, purees and concentrates, and oils. "In the fruit segment, we mainly supply large bakeries and industrial companies (fruit juice and jam, dairy and distilleries). In the last four years, however, the fresh fruit sector has also grown considerably," notes Ms. Vollweiler. The stone and berry fruit is sourced from numerous growing areas in the Balkan region via the Belgrade site.
The Anevo team in Belgrade (Serbia) provides local growers with advice and support. They support the farmers in implementing the EU and German quality standards in everyday practice. Anevo has persuaded 6 growers to implement the Global Gap standards in their business practice. In the picture: View into a Serbian raspberry plantation, in the background is the production site.
Sorting fresh plums for export to Germany.
Weather-related quality losses
Compared to the previous year, more volumes were obviously needed in food retail in 2020, Vollweiler notes. "It rained a lot in our sourcing countries this year, which is why the quality of the produce suffered somewhat. Instead of a ripeness level of 70 percent, we had to harvest the produce at 50 or 60 percent already. In the case of cherries, however, this has had a positive effect to some extent, because it was easier to stone the produce for the industry at a lower degree of ripeness."
Each year, Anevo organizes seminars and invites Ministry of Agriculture officials, growers and cold storage operators from the Balkans in Germany.
High potential for plums
Balkan plums are particularly popular on the fresh market, they observe. "Despite Corona, we were able to import over 1000 tons of plums last year. We see high potential in the German trade, especially since the Balkan plums contain significantly more fructose than Polish batches. We now have good relationships with buyers in the regions of Munich, Berlin, Heidelberg, Lake Constance and Stuttgart. We have even received initial orders for the upcoming season."
Sorting sour cherries for freezing.
In addition to plums, Anevo Trading sources apricots, cherries, blue raspberries and strawberries from southeastern European production. "Fresh raspberry imports will increase only minimally because the product is too perishable for transport. On the other hand, we see good sales opportunities for cultivated blueberries, and we are now trying to find a good trading partner in the Netherlands and Scandinavia. The same applies to apricots."
For more information:
ANEVO Trading GmbH
Anneliese Vollweiler 
Fröbelstraße 9
91058 Erlangen
Telefon: +49 (0) 9131 409 47-0
Fax: +49 (0) 9131 409 47-11
E-Mail: info@anevo.de
www.anevo-trading.com