Onion and potato wholesalers are currently experiencing a difficult season. The prices are very precisely calculated, the available quantities however are low. Nevertheless, even in a difficult market situation, there are always interesting niches. In the field of onions, mixed nets with yellow, red and white bulbs quickly find their way to major customers, at least in the Karlsruhe area, according to Ismail Güldal of the wholesale company bearing the same name.
Ismail Güldal has found an interesting market niche with his onion mix.
Hand picked onions
In the wholesale warehouse at the wholesale market area, the colored bulbs are sorted by hand and packed in units of one kilogram. Also on the wholesale market, the direct result of the summer heat are surely noticeable, because availability is limited and prices are moving to the uppers levels. ''The quality of this year's onions is reasonably good. However, we have to sort out about 15 percent of our onions because of poor quality. There is a reason why onion prices have increased by 100 percent compared to last year,'' says Güldal.
Left: Hand-sorted onions, Right: according to Güldal, white onions are the most sensitive bulbs. They currently are sourced predominantly from Italy.
Tasmanian onions
After Güldal closed his specialist shop in Pforzheim in 2005, he moved to the wholesale market and founded a classic trading business with potatoes and onions as a focus. Especially for this market segment, it is increasingly difficult to survive on the market in today's trading environment. "We tend to have 1 to 2 fewer customers every year, but we are still stable at the moment," says Güldal, who mainly offers Annabelles in the potato area, but has a number of specialties in his onion assortment. "Luckily, we have found an interesting product line with our hand-picked onion mixes. In addition to this, outside of the domestic season, ie between March and June, we offer onions from the Australian island of Tasmania on the market.''
The company's goods at the Karlsruher wholesale market
For more information:
Ismail Güldal
Großmarkt Karlsruhe
Weinweg 43, Box 17/18
T: 0049 721 616914
ismailguldal@gmx.de