The beautiful weather in recent weeks is aiding the sale of summer fruit. "We have been able to sell well," says Cédric Geens of import company W. Jonckheere. "However, this week we feel that it's slowing down a little. You can feel the holidays coming up. People want to go on holiday, but customers who don't normally go on holiday in the summer are also deciding to take a break after a busy COVID year. It will be a quieter summer than last year when almost everyone stayed at home. The month of July is unfortunately the main season for Spain and the holiday period may well cause some difficulties for the sale of Spanish product."
"Currently, the available volumes of Spanish stone fruit are quite moderate. This is a consequence of the weather in Spain during the month of May. It was very changeable, with hail, rain and low temperatures. This caused damage to stone fruit and other products, resulting in limited available volumes. Together with the high demand, prices were at a good level. This is now changing. The coming harvests will be of better quality, but also better protected, which means that more volumes are on the way. The increased supply will put some pressure on prices, especially now that demand is also falling," explains Cédric.
The melon season has also started, but according to Geens sales are lagging behind. "Ramadan has ended and since then the consumption of melons has decreased. There are currently too many yellow melons and watermelons on the market. The same goes for exotics, but that's quite logical. Avocado, pineapple and mango are struggling a bit. Limes, on the other hand, are doing very well. Since the catering industry has opened its doors again, the demand for limes has skyrocketed. The same applies to lemons and persimmons. We see that we are slowly returning to normal market conditions. Thank goodness for that."
For more information:
Cédric Geens
W. Jonckheere
+32(0)22 42 61 03
cgeens@wjonckheere.be