This year's plum harvest volume is far above average. "Marketers are making every effort to place the goods accordingly. However, the price increases for the producer in terms of wage and operating costs could not be enforced due to the abundant market," summarizes Jürgen Hattemer, sales manager at VOG eG, based in Ingelheim. In the meantime, he says, the large quantities have largely been cleared, which has also led to a corresponding price increase.
The wet weather of the past few weeks has had a corresponding effect on the crops. "The stability of the plums has suffered greatly from the precipitation. In some cases, there have been ruptured and burst fruits that could then no longer be offered to the fresh market. By the end of September, VOG will probably still be able to offer domestic plums," Hattemer expects. "We have days when it only rains, but also just partly daytime temperatures around 30 degrees, in these weather conditions the harvest is incredibly fast. In this respect, we have to expect an early end to the season. Especially with the late varieties, such as domestic plums, we will not be able to harvest the masses afterwards."
Jürgen Hattemer, sales manager at VOG eG, at the joint stand during this year's Fruit Logistica.
Focus on promotional products
In week 32 - one week later than usual - the first mirabelles from Rheinhessen were harvested. The fruit yield varied greatly, Hattemer emphasizes. "There are plants with good yields, but this year we also have to deal with burst fruit due to the difficult weather conditions. Similar to the plums, ripening is proceeding at breakneck speed. Harvesting of industrial fruit has even been completed, which is also related to the fact that demand for industrial fruit is rather restrained, especially since there is also plenty of stock from the previous year. For the fresh market, we will have to resort to ULO goods already from next week, after which we expect to finish the marketing season in week 35-36."
Packed mirabelles for the German food retail market.
According to Hattemer, a distinction had to be made in terms of prices: "On the fresh market, prices are roughly at the previous year's level, while in the industrial sector, prices and thus the previous year's revenues could not be achieved. In general, there is not the same run on mirabelles as in previous years. Where there are promotions, there is a flow of goods, but normal business is extremely weak. Consumers are very focused on promotional products, but this is also evident in the other fruit crops we offer. The only exception is sweet cherries; there has been a lower volume of this product this year, which has also been marketed correspondingly briskly."
Further information:
Jürgen Hattemer
Vereinigte Großmärkte für Obst + Gemüse Rheinhessen eG
Am Großmarkt 1
55218 Ingelheim
Tel. +49 (0) 61 32 7 84-0
hattemer@vog.de
www.vog.de