The South African pear season started early at OV Fruit. "We've received the first container of Williams Bon Chrétien pears last friday. From now on, we'll get larger weekly volumes," Oscar and Victor van Turenhout say. This season, this Dutch import company will receive a total pear assortment from South Africa, consisting of the Sempre, Rosemarie, Vermont Beauty, Forelle, Cape Rose, Cheeky, Abate Fetel, Packham's, and CA varieties.
Market conditions for South African pears are good. "There are very noticeably fewer Dutch Conference pears available, and they're priced well. So, there's plenty of demand for overseas pears. We're already pre-selling very widely. With the large sizes, sales have genuinely taken off already. We're also confident in the small size sales, but the medium sizes will cause the biggest boom."
"We sell these South African pears to clients throughout Europe, from the United Kingdom to Greece. Largely to wholesalers but also supermarket service providers. Even in the wholesale market, there are noticeably few pears available. Much is currently well-priced, and when you convert to kilos, South African pears are relatively cheap," explain Oscar and Victo
Early Ramadan fuels date demand
Dates are another popular product at OV Fruit. "These have been in high demand in recent weeks. Ramadan falls earlier this year, with fewer small sizes in particular. These are mostly packaged for supermarkets, so customers are stocking up on them," Oscar continues.
OV Fruit sources its dates from Israel and Jordan. "Besides there being fewer dates available in general, there are far fewer Class II dates or so-called Choice quality ones. There's, thus, a shift from those to premium quality. These may be priced differently, but consumers increasingly appreciate these dates."
"We'll soon also be getting the first Barhi dares from Namibia. Peru will follow, and we'll end the season with Israeli and Egyptian dates," Oscar concludes.
For more information:
Oscar van Turenhout
OV Fruit
Mob: +31 (0) 657 581 054
Email: oscar@ovfruit.nl
Website: www.ovfruit.nl