The heat in Italy is not only causing poorer quality watermelons and netted melons, but above all crop failures. "The product is currently very scarce, which also makes it correspondingly more expensive. Reticulated melons have recently had a price increase of 50 percent, but the price of watermelons has also slightly increased," Marco Di Maggio, managing director of Apimex Fruchthandels GmbH from Munich, informs us.
Marco Di Maggio in front of his office at the Munich wholesale market
Good demand
At present, melons from southern Italy are still on offer. However, the northern Italian season has not yet started. "Demand is, of course, very weather-dependent and has been good given the warm temperatures in recent weeks." He began selling the Italian produce about four weeks ago, with marketing of the Greek produce also starting last week. In parallel, he is still offering the last quantities of Moroccan origin, whose sale is slowly coming to an end.
"The Italian melons are currently 0.20 euro per kilo more expensive than the Moroccan goods. It is noticeable that the quality from Morocco is gradually declining. That being said, the Moroccan produce takes between six to seven days to arrive, while the produce from Italy has a journey of one to two days before it reaches us." The watermelons are sold exclusively to C&C markets in Bavaria. He receives about three to four pallets a week of the netted melons - if there is any produce available at all - and about half a truckload of the watermelons.
High prices, scarce quantities of stone fruit
In addition, Di Maggio said, prices for cherries, apricots and prunes from Italy were also significantly higher and only scarce quantities were available. This, he said, is due in no small part to the frost in April as well as massive rainfall. "There are also still no significant quantities of German cherries available. The local produce is not as early as in recent years."
Logistical "nirvana" at the wholesale market
At the Munich wholesale market, everyone would continue to struggle with the high costs. "In Munich, most warehouses are still working with existing (electricity) contracts, but these will expire next year. In addition, labor is hard to find at the moment. Because of this, we have also already had to reduce working hours. There is also a logistical 'nirvana' at the Munich wholesale market. We are therefore forced to cooperate with outside logistics companies. The wholesale market simply has no future at this location," Di Maggio said.
"Either you build a new store together, or more and more businesses migrate to the three logistics locations around Munich, such as Taufkirchen." Apimex's headquarters are in Munich, while other offices are located in Austria and Hungary. "We also use warehouses from the respective suppliers and producers. Our main business in Hungary is supplying the food retailers located there."
Further information:
Marco Di Maggio
Apimex Fruchthandel GmbH
Munich
Tel.: +49-89-76 77 45-0
Fax: +49-89-76 77 45-20
E-Mail: info@apimex.de
Web: http://www.apimex.de