In the Netherlands, current pear sales are good. "It's definitely worth selling a cell of pears. There's undoubtedly room for improvement, but prices aren't bad. Storage pears are selling for an average of €0.55 to €0.65, with the really big ones going for between €0.64 and €0.65. This year, you can make really good money with good quality, large pears," says Emanuel Sluis of the Service2Fruit trading platform.
He does not see sales slowing down any time soon, either. "Eastern Europe's doing well. For example, there are good exports of Lukassen to Romania and Poland. And there's demand for Conference from all over Europe, with good demand from Spain for quite a while. Quality-wise, the biggest issues are with the pears harvested when it was hot and dry. For now, the storage pears don't pose any problems."
According to Emanuel, apple sales are much trickier. "For Elstar, we're at the local market's mercy. And customers of the Jonagold-like varieties aren't yet ready to export."
"Still, I don't believe many countries are jammed with good apples, so demand should pick up in the new year," Sluis explains.
"Stored Jonagold is priced at around €0.35. You can make good money on good Elstars, but there aren't that many of those."
"Elstars are truly priced on size and quality, and it doesn't work selling them out of storage. The lower-quality apples put prices under pressure," Emanuel continues, "and very few excellent Elstar apples are available. Despite it being December, Red Boskoop is very difficult to market."
"Their sizes are generally disappointing, and even the better lots are selling on a clearance basis. Jonagold apples were picked at the right time and aren't too big. So, the second half of the season generally has a few bright spots," Emanuel concludes.
For more information:
Emanuel Sluis
Service2Fruit
15A De Ooyen
4191PB, Geldermalsen, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 885 321 300
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.service2fruit.com