The Egyptian strawberry season is in full swing at LuBa Fresh. "We started two weeks earlier than usual. Normally, the season opens with high prices, but that was not the case this year. The price level began low, although prices have since risen. Last week they were even very high, but they have dropped a little again," says Lucien de Wit.
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"Like in other years, the major challenge remains the availability of air freight. If you have capacity, you can sell plenty of strawberries, but it is the limiting factor. Much of the available air freight is focused on Asia, and capacity for Europe is minimal. More strawberries have been planted in Egypt this year, but due to limited air freight availability, many are ending up on the domestic market or going to the processing industry."
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Luuk de Wit
"Strawberries are now also transported by truck from Egypt, but that journey takes more than a week, and we do not take part in that market. However, those strawberries do reach the market, and unfortunately, some importers sell them as air cargo strawberries," Lucien continues. "We continue to specialise in air cargo strawberries with daily arrivals at Frankfurt, Cologne, Maastricht, and Amsterdam airports, and the quality this year is very good."
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© Luba FreshTraditionally, Egyptian strawberries are mainly delivered to German Weihnachtsmärkte, where they are dipped in chocolate. "The slightly firmer varieties like Fortuna, Festival, and Sensation are very suitable for this. Dutch strawberries are too soft," says Lucien. The Egyptian strawberry season is traditionally short. "The whole spectacle lasts at most six weeks. From 1 January onward, there is no more demand for Egyptian strawberries. In that sense, it remains a very special trade!"
For more information:
Luciën de Wit
LuBa Fresh
Tel: +31 (0) 77-777 7715
Mob: +31 (0) 6-41273443
[email protected]
www.LuBaFresh.com
