While a few weeks ago there were still supply bottlenecks for grapes from South Africa, Murat Günes, who is responsible for purchasing at Westfalen Frischedient Ltd from Hamm, can now look back on more positive developments. "Demand for grapes from South Africa is very high right now, which is of course also due to the fact that there are no other grapes available at the moment. Currently, we are also getting satisfactory quantities. At the same time, prices for all overseas goods have increased, in some cases by up to 70-80%. Currently, we have to increase our prices by 7-10%," says Günes.
High demand for packaging
As a full-range supplier, Westfalen Frischdienst also offers canned goods, baked goods, dried fruit and, last but not least, packaging in addition to fruit and vegetables. It is the latter product in particular that has seen the greatest demand, he said. "There has been a noticeable increase in demand for packaging, especially cardboard boxes and paper products, because there is simply too little available at the moment," Günes notes. Günes sources packaging through various importers from Belgium, Turkey and China, among other countries.
Price increase of 150-200%
He says there 
has been a significant price increase, especially from China, for raw materials such as aluminum, Styrofoam, cellulose and paper. Supply bottlenecks and increased freight and transport costs have also severely weakened the Chinese packaging market, he said; which in turn has hardly affected Turkey. "Turkey has adapted relatively quickly to selling packaging and buys a lot of raw materials. However, there have been several price increases for both Turkey and China's goods in the past year. It doesn't look like this increase will stop this year either," Günes says.
"There is no major price negotiation for this product, he says, because people are happy if they get any goods at all. Prices have exploded. We are now waiting several weeks for certain goods that we previously received within a few days."
Restructuring during Corona
Through the Corona period, Westfalen Frischedienst restructured heavily. "Previously, we supplied some wholesale market traders and sourced 80% of our revenue from the food service industry. However, Corona showed us that we had to reorganize accordingly in order to keep up in the market." The company had a 28% increase in revenue in 2021 and is projecting a 30-35% increase this year.
"If you're not flexible these days, you're going to be left behind very quickly. It's a very fast and dynamic business. Because we've adjusted accordingly, we've had increasing sales every year so far." The family-owned company has seen the lockdowns as a challenge, but also as an opportunity to develop further.
Günes' customers include various gastronomy businesses, ice cream parlors, school canteens, food retailers, wholesale markets, etc., mainly from North Rhine-Westphalia. However, he has also been able to supply individual stores in Hamburg and Munich. Currently, Günes is in negotiations with an importer from Turkey, from whom he will purchase packaged baked goods for the time being and may also import fruit and vegetable products in the future.
For more information:
Murat Günes
Westfalen Frischdienst GmbH
Gallberger Weg 35
59063 Hamm
Tel: +49 (2381) 904 99-10
Mail: info@westfalenfrischdienst.de
Web: www.westfalenfrischdienst.de