For two weeks now, the pumpkin harvest has been in full swing in the Bielefeld area. "The current outlook is particularly good with reasonable yields and good qualities. Although demand is still somewhat restrained, autumnal weather is forecast from week 34-35, so we expect demand to increase soon. At that time, we will also launch the first promotions in the food retail trade," says Sebastian Dörmann, Managing Director of the vegetable cultivation and trading company Frische aus Westfalen GmbH, based in Bielefeld.
In addition to the standard Hokkaido pumpkin, butternut and spaghetti pumpkins are also currently being harvested and delivered to food retailers throughout Germany. Later, the Halloween pumpkin will complete the product range. Both conventional and organic produce will be offered. "I don't yet see a drop in demand in the organic sector compared to last year. Whether inflation and associated price adjustments will have an effect on the demand for organic will then become apparent later in the season," Dörmann describes, pointing to the increased production costs. "In particular, the personnel costs have an impact here, because the pumpkin is harvested and prepared by hand, which of course involves a lot of work."
Rising demand for German table pumpkins
After harvesting, the pumpkins pass through a state-of-the-art washing line. Dörmann: "We have two lines that we have now optimized again by equipping them with a new crate turner. The aim here is to further increase our clout in the pumpkin sector. We have now succeeded in doing so, because depending on the variety and quality, we have been able to increase the speed by up to ten percent."
In general, a growth trend in German table pumpkins can still be observed, the vegetable producer continues. Over the years, the pumpkin has developed from an autumn vegetable into a year-round product. For German cultivation, this is rather advantageous, he says. "At the moment, there are still imported products from Spain, but as soon as the German product is fully traded, it usually disappears from the market. During the domestic season, there are usually only supplementary imports from the Netherlands, with regional produce now also preferred because of the shorter distances. At the variety level, butternut is now also a staple of the fall supply alongside Hokkaido, while spaghetti pumpkin represents more of a niche."
Increasing the impact
In order to continue to meet the increasing demand for German table pumpkins, Frische aus Westfalen GmbH has also invested in appropriate storage technology. "Until a few years ago, our pumpkins were available until mid-end November at the latest. We then decided to expand our cold storage facilities and optimize our storage accordingly, so that we can store our pumpkins until March and prepare them fresh for the food retail trade. We are also helped by the fact that we have an independent logistics company called Frische Logistik GmbH, which gives us the opportunity to deliver even very small quantities over longer distances," it concludes.
Images: Frische aus Westfalen GmbH
Further information:
Sebastian Dörmann
Frische aus Westfalen GmbH
Blackenfeld 104
D-33739 Bielefeld
Tel.: +49 521 39948 50
Fax.: +49 521 82562
[email protected]
www.frischeauswestfalen.de
https://frischelogistikgmbh.de/