The Turkish citrus season is currently in full swing, as Mustafa Aksoy of Dortmund-based wholesale company Marlene Meya tells us. "With lemons, grapefruits and especially tangerines, we can now draw from the full. Our two seedless varieties Tango and the easily peeled Murcott are enjoying increasing popularity. In parallel, we can supply our customers with Israeli Orri clementines and Spanish batches of the Nova, Hernandina, Tango and Nadorcott varieties."
The produce from Israel is by far the most expensive, currently at 2.00 euros/kg in purchase. "Spanish merchandise ranges from 1.20 to 2 euros/kg, depending on the variety. Turkish tangos are hovering around 1.10 euros/kg, Murcott around 1.00 euros/kg. Israeli Orri were already scarce at the turn of the year and accordingly quite high priced. According to current information, there will be increased quantities from the beginning of February, but I still do not expect an extreme drop in prices," Aksoy continues.
Left: Father Seref Aksoy at the wholesale market in 2018.
Right: Mustafa Aksoy during Fruit Attraction 2019.
Italian pears scarce
While a relatively abundant supply situation is emerging in the citrus sector, the pear market is rather undersupplied, he said. Says Aksoy: "Some are talking about crop losses of 50 percent for Italian Abate Fetel, one of the most popular pears on the market. We now have to order the produce 10 days in advance in order to get the desired 12-caliber delivered on time. To complement this, we are now offering more Dutch Conference and Xenia pears, as they are most similar to Abate Fetel." Given the low remaining stocks, he said, "one should expect an early end to the season for Italian pears, by March at the latest."
70th anniversary
Marlene Meya Ltd wa
s founded in 1952 by Hans Meya. In the mid-1990s, the father of the current owner and his business partner Halil Camur (r) took over the long-established wholesale company. The current generation has been at the helm of the company since 2004.
"We saw a considerable increase in sales during pandemic times because we mainly supply specialty retailers, supermarkets and market drivers. At the moment, we are seeing a slight supply shortage of Spanish products, as packers there are unable to process the usual volumes due to a lack of staff and corona requirements. From my point of view, there is no question of major bottlenecks and exceptional situations, as is often falsely portrayed in the media," says Aksoy, who is celebrating the company's 70th anniversary this year.
Aksoy is also quite confident about the longer term prospects. Because while many German wholesale markets fear for their existence, among other things because of sluggish location negotiations, the future of the Dortmund wholesale market looks quite positive. "Unlike many other cities, the wholesale market is not owned by the city of Dortmund, but by Großmarkt Dortmund eG. That means we have the management in our own hands, thus determining the future of the wholesale market. The grounds and the associated buildings are well maintained and regularly refurbished, which is why we are prepared for the near future."
For more information:
Marlene Meya GmbH
Mustafa Aksoy
Heiliger Weg 60-G
44135 Dortmund
Tel. +49 (0)231 52 89 99
M: +49 178 98 04250
[email protected]
www.marlene-meya.de/
