The global logistic situation is leaving its mark on the fresh produce industry. As there is a shortage of containers and prices for shipping have increased significantly, it’s challenging for the Polish apple season. One exporter states they’ve managed to build solid relationships with logistical companies to ensure their shipments get priority.
The season for apples in Poland came earlier than expected, says Aniruddh Ramesh, director of Polish apple exporter LVMG Grupa: “The apple season kicked off very early and positively for us in terms of sales, as there are more fruits than there were in the 2020-2021 season. However, this also means the prices have been lower than last year. Luckily, the weather has been very favorable in August, September and October for the harvest of the apples. Our farmers were keen to sell some portion of the fruits quicker, as they anticipated their storage chambers would be filling up fast. Some growers also still had stocks from last year’s harvest available, which added to the very quick start of the new apple season.”
LVMG focuses on markets that have a long transit time, as their produce is suited for long distance travel, says Ramesh. “Our main markets are the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and Far East Asia. The demand has been very strong from these countries due to the prices, volumes and quality of the fruit. They enjoy the right sizes, color and firmness of our fruits. Belarus taking less volumes from Poland this year due to political tensions could impact us, but only marginally. As the fruit we procure are grown and stored for specifically long transit destinations, which has high quality requirements. As a company, we don’t ship major volumes to Belarus.”
The apple season does come with its challenges, Ramesh states. The increased costs of transport as well as the shortage of the containers would be a problem if the company did not have good relationships with logistic companies. “Logistics have been quite a challenge this year, but the same can be said about the situation last season. We use road and sea ways a lot, hence the increase in global oil prices, reefer container shortages, reduced sailings and transit time delays are a challenge for us. However, since we’ve had regular shipments to our destinations for a few seasons now, we have good relations with logistic companies and shipping companies, who can ensure we get a priority on our shipments.”
“There have been other challenges for us in Poland, like the current level of inflation which has resulted in higher prices of packaging products, as well as a shortage of supply of raw materials, such as wooden boxes, wooden pallets and carton boxes. All of which slows down our production. On top of that it’s been harder to get the required labor for harvesting and packing fruit, so we only take orders that we can fulfil on time. Despite these factors, we do anticipate a good season for us and our associated growers as well as our production and logistics providers.” Ramesh concludes.
For more information:
Aniruddh Ramesh
Joanna Biernacka
LVMG Grupa Sp.z o.o.
Tel: +48 513234952
Email: ceo@lvmg.pl
http://lvmg.pl