The strawberry season is coming to an end with big steps, especially since food retailers are gradually taking the product out of their assortment, as Jan Hövelkamp from Polfrucht AG at the Berlin wholesale market tells us.
Tunnel goods until September
"We receive the strawberries from Lower Saxony, which are produced both in the open and in tunnels. The former is slowly running out, although there are still sufficient quantities of the tunnel goods. The food retail has already drastically reduced the intake of the goods or even completely removed them from the assortment. The outdoor strawberries will probably be available to us until September/October."
The strawberries are sold primarily to weekly market traders as well as to smaller specialist retailers. "However, it must also be said that attempts are now being made to stimulate the weak economy with lowered prices," says Hövelkamp. Lower Saxony has seen tremendous rainfall, but quality has remained comparatively stable, he said. Small lots are also exported to Poland. "Producers were able to place a lot of merchandise in the food retail this year, which is why we received less merchandise in toto this season. However, this situation now affects all wholesale markets. We simply can't keep up with the prices of the food retailers."
The large food retail chains are rarely found at the wholesale market anymore, he said. "These days, food retailers buy their goods directly from production and bypass the intermediary trade as far as possible. Meanwhile, almost only smaller, local, retail stores go shopping locally. These are, for example, Turkish retail chains, which include 14 branches in the Berlin metropolitan area, that go shopping at the wholesale market every day."
First Williams pears from South Baden
The Berlin company also has the first batches of pears available from South Baden. "The qualities are good. So far, the calibers are also quite small, the large ones are still too expensive for this. However, large sales are not to be expected in this product segment anyway. The pears are more of an additive product. What does sell well in the fall, though, are the Xenia and Novembra varieties." The selling price is currently EUR 1.80 to EUR 1.90/kg.
Declining interest in red currants
"Due to the weaker economy, we can't exactly speak of a massively successful year. However, it was alright overall." He said it was noticeable that demand for red currants was virtually non-existent. "I have the feeling that this product no longer has any relevance. Especially the younger generation, and Berlin is now a younger city, that they can no longer do much with the product."
Further information:
Jan Hövelkamp
Polfrucht AG
Großmarkt
Beusselstraße 44 n-q
10553 Berlin
Telefon: 030 - 397 457 - 0
Fax: 030 - 397 457 - 50
E-Mail: polfrucht@t-online.de
Webseite: http://www.polfrucht.de