After the first few weeks of sales, the French stone fruit season is now slowly picking up speed. "We are expecting the first arrivals of the popular apricot variety Orangered in a few days, which we can then usually offer for about three weeks. Sales have been somewhat weaker so far, although the quality of the apricots has been quite good since the beginning of the season," reports Erdal Dogan, Managing Director of FruechteKick GmbH, based at the Cologne wholesale market.
The wholesale market company has been a marketing partner of the French company JMB Fruits in the stone fruit sector for many years. Dogan. "Of course, we also offer stone fruit from Italy and Spain, but the majority of my customers appreciate the quality of the French goods and are also prepared to pay a little more for them." The stone fruit from the south of France is usually a bit more expensive than goods of Italian and Spanish origin, he says.
French apricots of the popular Orangered variety
"Curiously, the purchase prices of French apricots this year are 0.20-0.30 euros/kg below last year's level. This is of course a significant difference per package," Dogan continues, pointing to the price increases for many fruit and vegetable items.
Meanwhile, the first peaches and nectarines from the French partner JMB Fruits also arrived in Cologne in week 26. Dogan: "We have received nice, thick goods of AA size, which we market in boxes of 22. The price of the early fruit is about the same as last year." If the weather plays along, the stone fruit from France can be offered until the end of August/beginning of September. "In the south of France, too, we are confronted with capricious weather. At the moment it is mostly hot and dry, six to seven weeks ago there were still storms in places. However, I am not aware of any notable crop losses, which is why we are assuming normal to good yields."
French stone fruits in the goods receiving area of the Cologne-based company: yellow nectarines (left) of the Nectaronda variety and white peaches of the Monange variety.
Difficult general conditions
Overall, the wholesale company looks back on a difficult first half of the year. "Asparagus sales were relatively sluggish and not what we would have hoped for. Cherry sales have still been satisfactory so far. The minimum wage policy is increasingly putting pressure on the profitability of domestic fruit and vegetable production. This trend will continue in the coming years. In addition, the continuing uncertainty regarding the future of the Cologne wholesale market also continues to play a significant role," it concludes.
Pictures: FruechteKick GmbH
Weitere Informationen:
Erdal Dogan
FruechteKick GmbH
Großmarkt Cologne
T: +49 162 9662999
info@fruechtekick.de
www.fruechtekick.de