At the wholesale market in Hamburg, the current business is rather restrained, as Hinrich Eckhoff, buyer and seller at the fruit wholesaler Fruchtgroßhandel Erwin Dehmel, tells us on request. "The new apple harvest in the Alte Land has already begun with the first early varieties Gravensteiner, Delbarestival and Collina, which were marketed quite high in price. At the same time, money is simply tight out there with the consumer, in other words, people are holding on to the money. This is definitely noticeable in sales. Everyone is taking something, but summer apples are not being re-bought in a big way."
Regional apples from the Alte Land of the quality brand 'Der Flieger'
In addition to the early apples from the Alte Land, the company currently also offers overseas produce from New Zealand and Chile. Eckhoff: "Although these are not huge quantities, the goods ultimately have to be marketed." In terms of price, the storage apples cannot be compared at all with the early apples. That's because they traditionally start the new season with high prices. "As yet, growers in the Alte Land are in a good mood after two fairly modest years. The key question, however, is whether the current high price level will prevail as the season progresses. In the end, higher prices must also be achieved at the producer level to cover the higher production costs. Whether theory and reality match there will then be seen."
Hinrich Eckhoff is a buyer and seller at Fruchtgroßhandel Erwin Dehmel, based at the Hamburg wholesale market. The damson and cherry season is now gradually drawing to a close.
Early pears from the Alte Land
Meanwhile, the first early pears are also being sourced from the Alte Land, Eckhoff continues. "We are currently offering primarily Clapps and first Williams, and sales are quite normal at the beginning of the season. In parallel, we also have the first Italian pears of the Carmen and Santa Maria varieties. First arrivals of Abate Fetel I expect only in about ten days. At the moment, Spanish Abate pears are still being repacked in Italy. I suspect that the fruit size is still somewhat lacking, again due to the weather. Especially in the area of canteens and bulk consumption, people tend to go for a slightly cheaper Clapps from regional cultivation for price reasons."
Left: Italian grapes, Right: the first, Greek Dimis grapes of this season
Modest demand for grapes
This week, the first Dimis grapes also arrived from Greece. "Again, we see a delay of about ten days compared to other years. However, we are trading mostly Italian grapes, which have so far been marketed at relatively high, fixed prices. However, demand is rather subdued, which may also be due to the fact that we are currently still offering the full range of seasonal fruit. From mid-September onwards, the later, more stable varieties will come onto the market, which in turn usually has a positive effect on demand," concludes Eckhoff.
The long-established company Erwin Dehmel celebrated its 75th anniversary on 1.7.2023. The company's clientele includes retailers, weekly market traders, suppliers for gastronomy & large-scale catering establishments. As well as reselling wholesalers.
Images: Erwin Dehmel Fruchtgroßhandel
For more information:
Hinrich Eckhoff
Erwin Dehmel Fruchtgroßhandel
Großmarkt Hamburg
+49 175 288 3618
info@dehmel-frucht.de
www.dehmel-frucht.de