The export of Polish apples picked up again in the new year, after a slow period at the end of last year. According to Karol Osior, Export Manager of Polish apple exporter Fruit Active Sp. z o.o., demand is on a good level right now: “After the demand slowed down at the end of 2023, at the beginning of 2024 we noticed a renewed increase in interest for Polish apples. Many of our clients used raw material from the domestic market and started importing from Poland again. The current demand for apples is comparable to last year. Most of our goods go to the Balkans, Slovenia, Romania and to Western European markets like Germany and Spain. The harvest is also similar compared to the previous season. The most abundant apples are Jonagold, Idared and Golden Delicious.”
Osior states that the main challenge this season is to sort good quality apples for the target customer. “The quality of the raw material this season is slightly worse than in the previous one. As a result, more effort is needed to prepare goods of satisfactory quality. This is definitely helped by high-class sorting machines and the experience of our employees, which help to avoid mistakes - both during harvesting and packing apples to the target customer. An additional difficulty is competition from southern markets, primarily Serbia, Macedonia and Hungary.”
Currently, Polish apple growers can fetch a high price for their apples in the industrial market. Osior acknowledges this has an effect on the complete Polish apple market: “The high price of industrial apples has a direct impact on the dessert apple. Many smaller producers decided to sell their produce to the industry, due to the high cost of energy needed to store the apples. Thanks to the favorable price, even high-quality apples were often redirected towards the industry. It was necessary to constantly monitor the market in the context of industrial apples and adjust the prices of dessert apples accordingly.”
Fruit-Active recently upgraded their packaging, ensuring their brand is visible on it: “One of the key investments was the introduction of new packaging with our company logo. After the first shipments, we received positive feedback from our customers. We see that consumers are increasingly choosing premium products and the cheapest packaging is not always the best solution,” Osior explains. Looking ahead, he’s unsure of what’s coming as the Red Sea situation needs to stabilize. “We don't know what to expect from the rest of the season just yet. We see great interest from Middle Eastern countries, India and Bangladesh. Unfortunately, due to the situation in the Red Sea, we approach these markets with caution and wait for the situation to stabilize.”
For more information:
Karol Osior
Fruit Active Sp. z o.o.
Mob/WhatsApp: + 48 783 431 678
Email: karol.osior@fruitactive.pl
www.fruitactive.pl