The citrus season is slowly but surely drawing to a close and is now giving way to the summer fruits - even if the sun's rays are still holding back a little. Nevertheless, the season for Spanish honeydew melons as well as for other melon varieties will start at Grundhöfer GmbH at the Frankfurt wholesale market in the next two weeks, Joachim Dimmer informs us. He works as an authorized signatory and buyer for the company.
Melons from Costa Rica, Brazil and Honduras
"For the past two weeks, we have been offering honeydew melons from Costa Rica, and in about two weeks we will switch completely to the European product. Previously, we sourced the product from Brazil as well as Honduras. There are still occasional products from Honduras, but the quality has declined significantly." In addition to honeydew melon, the company also sells cantaloupe and, to a lesser extent, Galia melons. Demand for the melons is still a bit quieter due to seasonal factors, he said.
Higher prices on two-thirds of the range
"Melons are also much more expensive than usual in relation to previous years. Merchandise is always available, but in some cases in scarce quantities, which is why the price had to be adjusted way up in the meantime." Apart from this article, Dimmer noted that there were difficulties in general with overseas products due to extremely high freight costs. He said prices from overseas goods had increased by 20 percent compared to previous years. In general, about two thirds of the products had to be sold by Grundhöfer GmbH at higher prices compared to previous years.
In marketing, the topic of regionality is also taking on a greater role at his company, not least because retailers are also asking more about it. "How regionality is actually understood varies from company to company. Most of the time, however, it refers primarily to the respective federal state. For example, we also advertise with the 'Geprüfte Qualität Hessen' seal."
According to Dimmer, Easter sales were rather slow. "The weather conditions were not ideal, it was simply too cold. The entire outdoor catering area was also closed, which of course had an impact on buying behavior. With items such as strawberries, asparagus and the like, it was also not possible to run any major promotions, especially since Easter was also quite early this year." In view of this and the cost pressure, he estimates the mood at the wholesale market as depressed, however, they are confident that the situation will also increasingly relax.
Photos: Grundhöfer GmbH
Further information:
Joachim Dimmer
GRUNDHÖFER GmbH
Johann-Georg-Fahr-Anlage 1
60437 Frankfurt
Tel: 069 - 40 50 08 - 0
Fax: 069 - 40 50 08 - 88
E-Mail: j.dimmer@grundhoefer-frankfurt.de
Webseite: http://grundhoefer-frankfurt.de